The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set the clock ticking for Binance and other unregistered exchanges following an advisory. Kelvin Lee, SEC head, affirmed in a Dec. 13 panel that the ban countdown commenced with three months given to comply before the enforced ban.
Lee clarified amidst online confusion sparked by the advisory issued on Nov. 28 to Binance for operating without a license. He confirmed the ban’s initiation within three months from the advisory’s issuance on Nov. 29, extending the period to accommodate the upcoming Christmas holidays and ease the impact on Filipino investors.
The ban doesn’t solely target Binance; OctaFX and MiTrade, also under advisories for unregistered operations, face similar bans in three months.
The SEC has an emerging list of unregistered exchanges and opts for a cautious approach, observing if these exchanges register post-action against Binance.
Criticism surfaced regarding the Binance ban being “cheaper” than registered exchanges. Lee countered, highlighting the compliance differences and costs between registered and unregistered entities.
He urged local investors to consider registered entities, highlighting 17 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in the country offering fiat-to-crypto services as safer investment options.
