An infrastructure watchdog is calling on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to shut down the operations of the virtual currency trading app Binance due to its supposed lack of registration documents.
In a June 15 letter to BSP, Infrawatch PH said BSP should look into Binance’s operations in the Philippines and order the suspension of its operations.
“No less than Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III confirms the lack of registration and authorization of Binance, last Thursday, June 9, 2022, when he reminded the public about the dangers of dealing with non-registered entities. He said that the public cannot get legal protection from the BSP if they deal with non-registered entities,” said Infrawatch convenor Terry Ridon.
He pointed out that Binance has no single registration certificate from the local regulator, leaving Filipino investors vulnerable to the sharp swings of currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“The continued disregard of the licensing rules and regulations by Binance spoils the BSP’s mandate ‘to provide an environment that encourages financial innovation while safeguarding the integrity and stability of the financial system’ and undermines the government’s risk-based approach to virtual asset transactions and service providers,” Ridon added.
“Binance has flouted our regulations for years. They should not be allowed the privilege of operating in the country: not now, not ever.”
BSP to allow pre-termination of peso NDFs
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), is set to introduce amendments to its foreign exchange (FX) regulations, allowing for the pre-termination of peso non-deliverable forwards (NDFs).
