The Philippines SEC accused eToro of offering unregistered securities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in the Philippines has issued an advisory against online trading platform eToro, saying it is not allowed to sell or offer securities in the country.
The financial regulator issued a public notice on March 4, informing the public that online investment trading platform eToro is “not authorized to sell or offer securities to the public in the Philippines.”
“ETORO's operations allow Filipinos to create user accounts on the platform to invest and trade in unregistered investment products,” the SEC wrote in the advisory.
The company is not registered as a corporation in the Philippines and does not have the necessary licenses or authority under the Securities Regulation Act, to act as a broker-dealer or to conduct an exchange for commercial securities in the country.
Etoro is a multinational trading company founded in 2007 and has been popular for thousands of years. The multi-asset investment firm has more than 33 million registered users worldwide, according to Statista. The platform is available in 140 countries and is valued at $3.5 billion by 2023.
Despite being a multinational company, the Philippines' financial regulator advised the public to “exercise caution before investing in such unregistered online investment platforms and their agents.”
Anyone acting as a seller, promoter, influencer, endorser or agent of eToro in the Philippines could be fined up to $88,300 (5 million Philippine pesos) or jailed for up to 21 years for violating security laws, the notice added.
The eToro company website currently lists the Philippines as a supported country.
Cointelegraph reached out to eToro for clarification but did not receive an immediate response.
Related: Philippine government bans unlicensed crypto exchange sites
In the year In November 2023, the SEC issued a similar advisory stating that crypto exchange Binance was not authorized to sell or offer securities to the public.
In March, the Philippines' National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) began blocking crypto company websites without the necessary licenses.
Later that month, Cointelegraph reported that the SEC ordered the national internet service provider to block Binance's website.
“The SEC has identified the aforementioned platform and has concluded that the public's continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the safety of Filipinos' money to invest,” said SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino said at the time.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETF guru Eric Balchunas has the last laugh on skeptics: X Hall of Flame
