The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a stern warning that global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has been operating and offering trading services to Filipino customers without obtaining the required licenses or regulatory approval.
Philippine law mandates platforms like Binance to officially register with the SEC and provide comprehensive information on any securities being offered, including details on issuance pricing, the nature of the securities, and more. However, Binance has failed to register and has been actively and illicitly promoting its unlicensed trading services to users in the Philippines according to the warning statement.
As a consequence, any entities that have facilitated or enabled trading on the unauthorized Binance exchange could face severe legal repercussions, including potential fines of up to 5 million Philippine pesos (approximately $90,300 USD), up to 21 years of imprisonment, or both under Section 73 of Philippine securities regulation.
Regardless of the lack of proper licenses, Binance has become a highly popular avenue for cryptocurrency trading for many Filipinos, with some local users on social media praising the platform for its reliability compared to other exchanges less than three months ago.
In an attempt to compel compliance, the Philippines SEC has announced plans to officially restrict access to the Binance website and mobile applications within the next three months on all Philippine ISPs. This would force over a million local Binance users to liquidate and withdraw any remaining positions on the exchange before the deadline. The SEC has also reportedly requested Google, Meta, and other tech companies ban all Binance advertisements targeting users in the Philippines.
The Philippines warning follows on the heels of Binance recently agreeing to pay over $4.3 billion USD in fines in a settlement agreement with U.S. authorities for multiple counts of violating anti-money laundering laws, operating unlawful money transmitting services without licenses, and breach of economic sanctions. While Binance stated it has taken proactive compliance steps under its new leadership, the former Philippine general manager for Binance, Kenneth Stern, stepped down from his role earlier this month according to his LinkedIn profile.
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