MANILA, Philippines — Soon, the mobile application of Binance will no longer be available in the Philippines, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ramps up efforts to ban the cryptocurrency giant.
The corporate watchdog on Tuesday said it had already written to Google and Apple to formally request the removal of applications controlled by Binance from the Play Store and App Store, respectively.
SEC Chair Emilio Aquino said in their letter that the blocking of Binance’s mobile applications would “prevent further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, and to protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy.”
This comes after the SEC requested the National Telecommunications Commission to block access to websites used by Binance in the country.
The regulator in November 2023 warned the public against investing in and using Binance after finding that it had not secured a license to solicit investments.
READ: SEC pushes forward efforts to ban Binance in PH
It also failed to secure a permit to create or operate an exchange for the trade of securities, as required under the Securities Regulation Code.
No permit, license
At present, it is still “actively employing” digital promotional campaigns on social media to attract Filipino investors.
Binance, which is registered in the Cayman Islands and is known as the largest crypto market in the world, allows users to buy and sell more than 402 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether.
READ: NTC directs internet service providers to block access to Binance
The crypto market skyrocketed in July 2022, according to the SEC. Back then, there were around 750,000 Binance users from the Philippines.
The company currently has an average trading volume of $65 billion with a membership of over 183 million, the SEC said, citing data from the Binance website.
Last year, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pled guilty to violating US anti-money laundering laws. Zhao subsequently stepped down from his post.
The SEC urged Filipino investors with investments in Binance to close their positions or transfer these to their own crypto wallets or accounts with service providers registered in the Philippines.