Philippines Issues Stricter Crypto Listing Rules, Bans Privacy Coins
The Philippines has tightened crypto oversight with new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rules for licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers. Exchanges must now follow stricter due diligence and accreditation standards before listing tokens, keep ongoing monitoring of listed assets, and set clear delisting triggers such as illiquidity, insolvency, scams, de-pegging, security breaches, or misleading disclosures. Privacy coins are banned from being listed or supported. The BSP says the goal is financial stability and consumer protection. The rules add to a dual-regulator system: the BSP oversees payment and transaction rails, while the SEC regulates crypto-assets that qualify as securities. The SEC already requires local registration, capital requirements, and data storage, and has blocked several offshore exchanges. The market remains active, with the Philippines ranking high in global crypto adoption. Binance’s attempted re-entry is still constrained because neither it nor its local partner has a VASP license.
