Bitcoin Forum

Good day to all the members in this forum, maybe I should start our conversation with the questions we will discuss.

First question, is it possible to ban Binance in the Philippines?

According to the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) there is a group or organization called INFRAWATCH PH that issued a letter to the BSP saying that one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world should be banned or suspended. Because it doesn't have a license to operate in our country, and if your gonna take a look at it, they are right. Because in order for you to be an official company related to exchange or virtual assets, you need to have a VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) and there are always associated requirements before you can have a license to operate in the Philippines. And some of the licenses here are Coinsph, PDAX and Paymaya which will soon be able to buy and sell crypto.

According to Binance, they have not yet formally received the letter about banning them here in the Philippines. And they are also ready                  to discuss about this matter because they are also ready to get a VASP license or even an E-money license.

And as far as I know, last June the CEO and Founder of Binance visited here and they plan to expand here in our country, and they also plan to provide a scholarship program and eventually the graduates will be able to work in the Binance company.

According to the SEC (Security Exchange Commission), Binance is also not registered but they are monitoring it despite the fact that other investigations are still being conducted not only here but also in other countries such as France and the U.S. That is why because of these events the value of their BNB token was affected.

So far we have not really heard any Final updates on these events, because at the present time now we can still use Binance here in our country whether we want to transfer it via Coinsph, Gcash, or Bank account that we have. And I just hope that Binance will not be banned in our country because there are also many users here in our country.

Referrence:
- https://bitpinas.com/regulation/bsp-urged-to-ban-binance-for-illegally-operating-in-the-philippines/
- https://bitpinas.com/regulation/binance-response-infrawatch-bsp-ban-ph/

binance always abide laws of certain country's regulation. the binance.ph seem already in place which users are directed to binance.com.

binance knew Philippines has the biggest crypto users in Asia, it will be a big loss if they are not going to deal with it as soon as possible. it is not a big problem for users though because there are also huge list of exchanges that  users can go.

Important keyword from the article headline: BSP Urged to Ban Binance

Kumbaga proposal lang(or palang). Just like how pwede rin akong gumawa ng proposal sa BSP na i-ban ang GCash, pero it doesn't mean na matutupad ung proposal sa huli (obviously not).


Basically, it's just a proposal. I could literally also create a proposal to the BSP but it doesn't necessarily meant that it will amount to something.


LOL ty for the heads up.

Yes Sir, you are correct. But were not in the local thread section, instead we are here at the trading section topic,
But I do appreciate your opinion here in this discussion anyway. Thanks and have a good day to you.

If the licence is necessary to operate the exchange and other exchanges can able to get the for sure Binance will also follow the rules of their government and implement everything its needed. This is not an official or anything just an organization pointing their fingers to ban Binance but it won't happen anyway unless Phillipines ban the trade of cryptocurrencies completely.

Binance is an organization, any organization in a country can be stopped to further not be operating anymore in the particular country by the government of the country. So yes, Binance can be banned from Philippines. The people that are using Binance in Philippines are many, Binance will not want to risk this, it is also still a proposal, but I believe Binance will try all their best for their exchange to continue to be operating in the country as they will abide to the laws and regulations given by the country.

From all you've said, I don't think the ban will happen, Binance is already a very big exchange and any licenses they need to continue their operation in Philippines would be to hard for them to get I believe, we all know that the Binance CEO, CZ, is a very hard working man and also a man devoted to his business and the expansion and adoption of cryptocurrencies, He would definitely go to any length to make sure no ban happens, and also considering the fact that Binance have a lot of users from Phillipines, this will serve as a motivation for CZ to make sure the ban does not happen, so put your mind at rest.

Yes. Just like what happened first with their operations in the US but later on, they've complied with the appropriate rules that they've violated. The same also in Singapore, they've been stopped there but eventually has to come back CMIIW. But as said, it's like a proposal and it's not yet official.
And even its government allow it to hppen, Binance will do something to change that decision will all their might and that's how powerful they are as a business.

One thing I noticed though is that the BSP new chair seems to be anti-crypto? I might be wrong.

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Binance has already a lot of traders and users in the Philippines already and I would say that they are one of the top crypto exchanges already. So it will be big lost for Filipino crypto traders. But for sure Binance will not go down without any fight here. I mean they will just have to comply with the new BSP rule to be able to stay in the PH market. And with that, I don't think that they will get the ban hammer in Philippines which is one of the crypto friendly countries in Asia.

I read this news several months ago and it's recurring again, it seems that binance is trying to find a legal framework in the Philippines but so far it has not found, this article is a few weeks ago (https://www.coinspeaker.com/binance-operational-licenses-philippines/)
Yes, they can be banned in the Philippines but I think the state will allow them whenever the license is available and I don't think Binance will not comply with the legal process, so it's hard to see their ban soon.

Of course it is possible that Binance will be banned in any country. Binance is a centralized exchange. Anything centralized is under the full mercy of regulation.

However I do not think that the Philippines will be introducing any bans on Binance as they could have already done so. Just because there are now people who are calling them out on not running "by the book" in a certain country. We should not panic too early on this matter.

Binance is probably the most careful exchange I know. Even the SEC itself has not raised any alarms yet. 

If binance will be banned on the Philippines then other crypto exchange should also be restricted too. We know that there are many centralized exchanges like kucoin, bittrex, gate.io, etc. that are also not registered to BSP. I'm sure most of the people there know those exchanges.

Banning binance on Philippines will just give a bad image to its people that their country is not crypto friendly so I don't think that BSP will really do it.

Binance can apply for it and I am sure they will get approval.

Phillipines is very friendly with cryptocurrency and they won't ignore Binance, the largest crypto exchange. If it relates to license and operation tax for government, it will be handled by Binance.

Assume Binance does actually have license in the country that I am not sure. I remember CZ, CEO of Binance had a business trip to the country in April or May.

Yes, they can, especially if Binance doesn't actually comply with what the PH authorities (whoever holds authority about crypto anw) actually want, which is basically applying for a license for their company to do business here. I assume Binance would do something about it if they were urged about it or maybe even doing it now, just that it may not be a top priority since again, they weren't really being rushed to comply.

Reading the article, it seems like CZ is already on talks about getting the license/s needed for Binance here. From OP's 2nd article

Countries like the UK, and Italy banned Binance since 2019 and there are still others. The group Infrawatch PH is doing what it should. For example, they have also been responsible for calling on their government to fix lots of stuff in the road, power and mining, housing, telecom, and water sector as I read on their website. Binance should secure the necessary licenses to operate in the Philippines just as it has done in other countries where they operate. I feel they are just looking out for their people.

Sources:
https://time.com/nextadvisor/investing/cryptocurrency/binance-us-review/
https://www.infrawatchph.com/about/

The Philippines is actually a country that supports cryptocurrency trading but if an exchange will not comply with the requirements, they might ban it. Other countries might also do the same thing. Binance is the most trusted exchange in the said country so lots of users will be affected if ever they will get banned and I'm sure that people will complain about it. I hope they can fix their license issue in the Philippines so they can continuously operate.

Binance should do the needful to obey the rules and regulations of the Philippines. If they are required to have a license to be able to operate then they need to have that for the country to know they are fully operational and cooperating with them. Usually countries would require companies operating under their system to obey to what they are doing and not having their parallel system.

On just common sense where Binance isnt a company that had been operating on Philippines which does simply means they cant really impose ban or something like that and even if they do

then they cant just simply stop on making use of that P2P feature which is something that cant really be traced up.Plus if they would really be making ISP on blocking binance then
we know on how VPN works thats why its meaningless even if they would really be banning or prohibiting it since people could really still make use of it without being caught.

Seems like PH is trying out to ban crypto overall soon and the one who had been seated on the government is really against crypto now?

There’s still no final judgement, the regulator does not comment on this because there’s no formal complaint and we know that it will take time before they got the resolution. SEC is just advising the public but it is still the BSP has the final word on this. Binance is willing to participate and comply with the requirements, I’m pretty sure our government will support this initiative and won’t let any local competitor to win without letting Binance defend themselves. I’m confident, Binance will stay in the Philippines and will continue to provide good services.

I believe some local groups are urging the BSP to ban Binance in the Philippines.  I doubt that to happen.  Binance had already submitted an application and waiting for the approval of the BSP if things go smoothly. 

It is sad to think that in order to monopolize the local industry these crab-minded people do uses their influence or make fake claims to smear the reputation of their competitors.

Local exchanges are just trying to ruin the reputation of Binance so they can get the local market, I don’t think BSP will in favor them because in the first place Binance has no company in the Philippines. Binance is the best, i do hope that they will not ban Binance because it helps many Filipinos already, Binance is willing to cooperate and let them come. We badly needed the best exchange, so I’m not supporting this one Binance should stay.

Let’s not panic and just wait for the due process. There’s no formal complaint, its just a paper telling BSP to ban Binance without any legal basis. Though its alarming about the SEC announcement, hopefully this case wont escalate and can still be settled before making any decisions. I agree that we need Binance, but let’s respect our regulatory agency, if they see irregularities then its fine but if none, better to scrap this issue right away.

Ban or Closure of the Binance.ph is possible if they are proven guilty by SEC. I don't find a reason for an excuse but I know that Binance.ph had already known the consequences of not acquiring any papers to run a business and in fact, they are a big company as it also ruins their reputation. But, I doubted they don't take action and submitted the requirements to become legal as they are in the Philippines for more than 1 year ( correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe the approval just take so long and that was not their fault anymore.

That group does see something that goes against their standards but they're also known to stop good activities despite that it's not really that bad at all.
Binance's CEO has already made his travel to our country and that for sure has included the paper works that's needed to be done so that his business will have a smooth run in the country. But if SEC ever gives that decision of banning them, we can't do anything about it but to accept it.

This is what I've been thinking since it did happen not just on that country but also in the other countries who has a corrupt leader. Monopoly exist almost everywhere and I think someone should stand up against these people since it's like they own the whole market in the country.

But anyway, if Binance could comply to the BSP's request then there's a possibility that they will still continue to be doing business in the Philippines. And I doubt it's easy to ban Binance if they are that compliant and would follow every possible rules and regulations to acquire most target in crypto.