Philippines Could Soon Regulate Its Domestic Crypto Exchanges

MeThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines has been active lately, apparently targeting draft rules for the domestic cryptocurrency exchanges weeks ahead of finalizing the regulations later this year.

According to recent news, the cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines could soon operate as regulated trading platforms. The regulators are apparently seeking to protect investors and also create an inclusive ecosystem for cryptocurrencies to flourish in the country.

As the SEC commissioner Ephyro Luis B. Amatong stated in an interview with BusinessWorld:

“We will put out a draft rule for the virtual currency exchanges, hopefully within the first half of September.”

The official was also speaking to reporters after the SEC meeting on Thursday when he revealed his talks with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which is the country’s central bank – for a joint oversight over the crypto exchange industry in the country.

As the Manila Times reported, he stated:

“We already discussed the matter with the BSP since the BSP is also interested and we are also interested. The discussion … [involves]joint cooperative oversight over VCEs engaged in trading.”

Meanwhile, the Philippines is among the first countries in the world that implemented formal guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges in February 2017. Right now, the BSP has outlined the guidelines for operators wherein certified exchanges were recognized as remittance and money-transferring firms. As Amatong stated, the plan is to regulate them “as trading platforms.”

To conclude his stance on cryptocurrencies and regulation within the country, the central bank official added:

“If you want something that is fast, near real-time and convenient then there’s the benefit of using virtual currencies like bitcoin.”