On December 13, Kelvin Lee, the head of the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), clarified in a panel discussion that a ban on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance is set to be enforced three months after the issuance of an advisory. This advisory, issued on November 28, warned Binance for operating in the Philippines without a license.
Local news outlet BitPinas reported that there had been considerable confusion online regarding the ban following the advisory. Lee specified that the ban’s effective date was intended to be three months from the advisory’s issuance date, which was November 29. Initially, the recommendation was for a shorter period, possibly even one week, but Lee decided to extend it, considering the Christmas holiday period, to avoid inconveniencing Filipino investors.
Lee also mentioned that OctaFX and MiTrade, two other exchanges that received advisories for unlicensed operations, are facing similar bans after a three-month period.
The Philippines SEC is reportedly monitoring a significant number of unregistered exchanges and is adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to see if these platforms will seek registration following the action against Binance. This approach indicates the regulator’s interest in seeing whether these exchanges will comply with local regulations in light of the enforcement actions.
Lee faced criticism over the decision to ban Binance, particularly because the exchange is perceived as “cheaper” than other registered entities. He responded by pointing out that unregistered entities like Binance can afford to offer lower costs because they do not bear the compliance costs that registered entities do.
He advised local investors to deal with registered entities for their safety and security. According to Lee, there are currently 17 virtual asset service providers registered in the Philippines that offer fiat-to-crypto services.
Cointelegraph, a news source on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, reached out to Binance for comments regarding their situation and any plans they might have in response to the developments in the Philippines.
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