Investors may get out of their crypto holdings on the Binance exchange when the ban takes effect in three months.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, will have its access to the Philippines blocked by the nation’s financial authority due to worries about the firm’s unauthorized activities in the country.
The country’s SEC claimed in a March 25 document that it had obtained help blocking access to Binance’s website and online trading platform from the NTC.
Emilio B. Aquino, chairperson of the SEC, informed the NTC in a letter that the agency had discovered the specified platform and determined that the public’s ongoing use of these websites and applications endangers the safety of Filipino investors’ funds.
According to the financial watchdog in the Philippines, Binance is in violation of the Securities Regulation Code since it provides investing products like crypto savings accounts and leveraged trading services without the necessary licenses.
According to the SEC, investors will have three months to get out of their Binance positions before the prohibition takes effect. In addition, the firm requested that Google and Meta remove all ads pertaining to Binance from their platforms in the Philippines.
Binance has been under increasing regulatory scrutiny globally, and the ban in the Philippines is the latest regulatory setback.
A U.S. court mandated that Binance pay the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) $2.7 billion and that Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Binance’s former CEO, pay $150 million in December 2023.
This settlement brought an end to a protracted legal battle between Binance and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC sued Binance in March 2023, accusing it of running an illicit futures exchange and avoiding federal law.
As part of a larger settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Treasury Department, and the CFTC, CZ agreed to stand aside from his post as head of Binance on November 21.
Zhao entered guilty pleas to several civil and one criminal offense related to anti-money laundering statutes on the same day.
Money laundering accusations have delayed Zhao’s sentence. The court postponed his sentence until April 30. A bail of $175 million has been released at this time.
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