The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ten prominent crypto exchanges, including OKX, Bybit, Kucin and Bitget, marked for operating in the country without the necessary approval.
On August 4, the SEC issued a public warning in which residents are advised to prevent these non -registered platforms being affected, which have not protected permits to exploit or request investments within the Philippines.
The financial supervisor added:
“This list is not exhaustive. Other platforms that offer comparable services as the Filipino public without registration or secity inspection are also considered to be contrary to the Filipino securities laws.”
The SEC emphasized that these platforms are considerable risks for users. According to the supervisor, persons involved in these non -registered platforms can be exposed to possible financial losses without legal use.
In addition, the SEC emphasized the concern about the dangers of fraud, market manipulation and identity theft, which can influence Filipino users.
In addition to these risks, the SEC alarms increased the potential involvement of the platforms in illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF).
The regulator expressed concern about the risk that these exchanges will be used for cross -border financial crimes, which can attract international research and the Philippines run the risk of being added to the global financial watchist.
This step is not surprising since the Philippines remain one of the best global crypto adopters, according to a 2024 Chainalysis report.
The warning follows the earlier decision of the SEC to block access to the Binance website in the Philippines, which indicates that similar actions can be taken against the marked stock exchanges.
The SEC is also considering curbing unauthorized promotions, such as orders and absence assignments, criminal complaints and international cooperation with large technology companies such as Google, Apple, Meta and Tiktok.
The actions of the Filipino government reflect a broader regional trend, especially in Asia, where the authorities sharpen the rules for crypto platforms.