Philippines Bans Privacy Coins and Issues Stricter Crypto Listing Rules
The Philippines' central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has banned privacy coins like Monero and Zcash and issued stricter rules for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). To promote financial stability, VASPs must now conduct rigorous due diligence before listing any digital asset. This move extends a broader regulatory tightening in the country, which ranks ninth in global crypto adoption and operates a dual-regulator system with the SEC.
Privacy coin ban
▪Yburan also stated that because the Philippines is remittance-heavy, it cannot allow anonymity-enhancing assets to flow freely while building trusted financial infrastructure.
▪The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has banned anonymity-enhancing virtual assets, also known as privacy coins.
▪The ban affects assets like Monero and Zcash, which will be removed from compliant local exchanges in the Philippines.
▪Alden Yburan of GCash noted that privacy is a "foundational value in crypto" and that privacy coins "exist for legitimate reasons."
VASP listing guidelines
▪Delisting triggers include loss of liquidity, issuer insolvency, involvement in a scam, de-pegging, or a material security breach.
▪The new VASP rules are aimed at promoting financial stability and protecting the financial welfare of customers.
▪The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued new guidelines requiring Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to implement rigorous due diligence before listing digital assets.
▪VASPs must conduct ongoing monitoring of listed assets and establish thresholds that could trigger suspensions or delistings.
Dual regulatory framework
▪In June of the previous year, the SEC's Memorandum Circular No. 5 required crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to register locally and hold ₱100 million ($1.8 million) in paid-up capital.
▪The Philippines ranks ninth worldwide on Chainalysis's 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index.
▪Crypto firms in the Philippines operate under a dual regulatory system, answering to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for payments and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for securities.
▪By August of the previous year, the SEC had blocked access to 10 offshore platforms, including OKX, Bybit, Kraken, and KuCoin.
Binance re-entry attempt
▪Global crypto exchange Binance is attempting to return to the Philippines through a local partner, BlockShoals Technologies Inc.
▪The SEC requires BlockShoals to integrate with a licensed domestic VASP within 90 days before it can onboard users through Binance's infrastructure.
▪The BSP has stated that neither Binance nor its partner BlockShoals holds a VASP license required for central bank-regulated activities.
▪BlockShoals Technologies Inc. received initial clearance from the SEC in November under the StratBox regulatory sandbox.
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