PH digital trade groups backs ban on Binance

Two local digital trade organizations are supporting the government’s move to block cryptocurrency trading leader Binance in the Philippines, agreeing that the move will help safeguard consumers engaged in transacting and investing in digital assets.

Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP) president Donald Lim on Friday sent a statement to the Inquirer that his group, as well as the Fintech Alliance.PH (Alliance), “wholeheartedly” support the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The joint statement characterized the state regulator’s as one “to promote consumer protection in the emerging area of virtual assets.”

“We join the SEC in warning the general public against transacting with any unregistered exchanges and trading platforms and encourage the promotion of educational programs to assist the investing public in avoiding financial losses,” read the joint statement from the two organizations.“To this end, Alliance and BCP, together with key licensed virtual assets service providers will conduct a series of hybrid sessions given recent events surrounding unregulated exchanges to drive more awareness about the implications of virtual asset trading and what the users can do,” it read further.

In a Nov. 28 advisory, the SEC said Binance was not authorized to publicly sell or offer securities in the Philippines, pursuant to Republic Act No. 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code (SRC).

The Philippines’ corporate watchdog said that the operator of Binance is not registered as a corporation in the Philippines and is operating without the necessary license or authority to sell any form of securities as defined by the SRC.

On Wednesday, the SEC said it was working with the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to prohibit users from accessing the Binance website and its applications while inside the country.

“The removal of access in the Philippines is expected to take effect within three months after the issuance of the advisory, in order to give Filipino investors who have holdings in Binance to close their positions and take out their investments,” the SEC said.