Philippines to Ban Binance Exchange

The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is blocking local user access to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, citing concerns over the firm’s unlicensed operations in the country. The ban will take effect within three months to offer investors time to sell any shares they may have acquired through Binance, according to a March 25 document by the SEC.

The regulator said it received the assistance of the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) to block access to the exchange’s website and other associated web pages. Additionally, the agency requested that Meta and Google block Binance-related advertising from showing up on their platforms for Filipino users.

According to the Philippines’ securities watchdog, Binance violates the Securities Regulation Code by offering investment products such as leveraged trading services and crypto savings accounts without the required licenses. Moreover, Binance has actively used promotional campaigns on social media platforms to attract Filipinos to investment and trading activities.

In the letter addressed to the NTC, Emilio Aquino, the SEC’s Chairperson, mentioned:

“The SEC has identified the aforementioned platform and concluded that the public’s continued access to these websites or apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos.”

SEC mentioned that the platform has an average daily trading volume of $65 billion across more than 402 cryptocurrencies. Although the exact number of Filipino users on Binance is unavailable, research by GWI indicates that the Philippines has over 9.3 million crypto owners, ranking it as the seventh largest country in crypto ownership.

Binance Faces Regulatory Hurdles Globally

The ban in the Philippines is the latest regulatory setback for Binance, which has been facing increased regulatory scrutiny globally. In December 2023, a US court ordered the exchange to pay $2.7 billion and its ex-CEO, Changpeng Zhao, to pay $150 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The settlement marked the end of a long-running case against Binance. The CFTC sued the firm in March 2023 for breaking federal law and running an illegal derivatives exchange.

On Nov. 21, Zhao agreed to resign from his position as the head of Binance as part of a broader settlement with the US Department of Justice, the CFTC, and the Treasury Department. On the same day, he pleaded guilty to multiple civil charges and one criminal charge regarding Anti-Money Laundering laws. Moreover, a Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, has directed Binance Holdings to provide data on all Nigerian users to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).