Philippine think tank Infrawatch PH is continuing its efforts to ban Binance in the country by asking more regulators to investigate cryptocurrency exchanges over alleged illegal operations.
Infrawatch PH on Monday filed a twelve-page complaint calling on the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to crack down on Binance’s activities in the Philippines.
According to the think tank, Binance has been operating in the Philippines for several years without the approval of the relevant authorities.
Terry Redon, organizer of meetings for Infrawatch PH, claims that Binance does not have an office in Manila and only uses “offshore companies that hire Filipinos for their technical services and customer support.” He also referred to former Finance Minister Carlos Dominguez, who announced last month that Binance had no records with the SEC or Bangco Central NG Pilipinas (BSP).
The SEC has served the public well by banning unscrupulous online lending services. You should do the same for unregistered and unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges in the country,” Redon said. He added that Binance offers many types of crypto products, including spot trading, margin trading, futures, options, crypto loans, and peer-to-peer (P2P) trading. , although not registered with the SEC, adding:
“We believe these products are of a securities nature and, under SEC rules, may not be sold, offered or distributed within the Philippines without a duly filed and approved registration statement with the SEC.”
A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company is working closely with local regulators and is looking to secure licenses for the virtual asset service provider and e-money issuance in the Philippines.
“We are constantly engaged in discussions with regulators and in-country stakeholders. Our goal is to contribute to the vibrant Web3 and blockchain ecosystem in the Philippines,” the representative said. The spokesperson also mentioned that Binance introduced mandatory “know your customer” procedures for all users on the platform last year.
The news comes shortly after the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) canceled a proposal to ban Binance in early July, citing a lack of regulatory clarity from the BSP. DTI was the first target of Binance’s complaints against Infrawatch PH, with the think tank asking the authority to investigate the exchange over illegal promotions.
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This news comes amid a significant uptick in cryptocurrency trading activity in the Philippines. In July, weekly Bitcoin (BTC) volumes in Philippine Pesos reached an all-time high on crypto exchange P2P Paxful. Cryptocurrency adoption in general in the country has also increased in recent years, with companies like PayMaya launching cryptocurrency trading features.
BSP did not send a Cointelegraph request for comment on the state of crypto regulation in the country. Binance did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
