Philippines SEC begins countdown to Binance ban
Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission chief Kelvin Lee explained on December 13 that the ban on Binance will take effect three months after the advisory was issued.
According to a report from local news BitPinas, Lee said that there was a lot of confusion on the Internet about the ban after the regulators gave a recommendation to the cryptocurrency exchange to operate without a license on November 28.
He was asked to explain the matter and the suspension was “considered to be for three months from the date of issue”, which was issued on November 29.
We may extend that depending on how the feedback is, but for now, we should feel lucky with three months.
Although the original recommendation was one month, there was a “one-week transitional period” but an additional period was set due to the Christmas holiday. “It is not to make it difficult for Filipino investors during that period,” he said.
In addition to Binance, Li OctaFX and MiTrade, two other exchanges recently issued recommendations for unregistered operations, saying that they will face bans after three months.
The local SEC said it has a list of unregistered exchanges that is slowly emerging. However, after seeing the action taken on Binance, the exchange is trying a “wait and see” approach as to whether or not it will be registered.
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According to the report, Lee has received criticism regarding the ban on Binance because it is “cheaper” than other listed exchanges.
“Of course they are cheaper because they never bothered to register in the Philippines and they had trouble complying,” he said. “Unlike registered entities, of course there are compliance costs.”
He warned local investors to “invest in registered entities”, currently 17 virtual assets service providers that provide fiat-to-crypto services are registered in the country.
“At the end of the day, it's about enrollment. At the end of the day, it's about consumer protection. Work with registered entities.
Cointelegraph reached out to Binance for comment on the situation and any plans for action in the Philippines.
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