Philippine Central Bank sets out policies for bitcoin exchanges

[Pettuh4]

This is such a good news because bitcoin is being noticed in the Philippines and it seems that because of this news and because of this action of the Philippine Central Bank, it will attract a lot of investors to bitcoin and it will benefit us, the bitcoin community. I hope more countries will notice and study about the bitcoin so they can use it too like us.

We all hope for the best and if their policies will affect the exchangers and Bitcoin positively then we are all for it. It should be done globally though and not just the Philippines so that all and sundry can benefit from the positive policies.

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[Vaccinus]

I though bitcoin transaction are de-centralized and pseudo-anonymous? With this development, the Philippines Central bank will not have total control and the local exchanger registered users are now subjected to the new circular. So goodbye for being anonymous which defeat the purpose of using bitcoin as mode of online payment and transaction.

you forgot that bitcoin was never anonymous, by the time you use an exchange you have destroyed your anonymity with bitcoin, if you want anonymity you need to use monero, this policy imho it's great for regulating bitcoin and making it adopted for philippine people

I just get a point if the Philippines is allowing the bitcoin service to run in his environment. But it's mean the central bank will try to restricting the bitcoin business. and Will it become the same future like coinbase?

they are not restricting anything they are regulating to avoid illegal usage of the money, and this is a good thing, people will trust more bitcoin and their exchange and the usage will increase

[szpalata]

http://calvinayre.com/2017/02/08/business/central-bank-rolls-new-rules-philippine-bitcoin-exchanges/

After the declaration of the Central Banks that they see merits in the use of bitcoin as well as in the financial exchange the Central banks sets out rules for the exchanges. This rules are placed in accord with  the BSP Circular No. 944 that states " businesses that convert real money like Philippine peso to virtual currencies like bitcoin, and vice versa, will “soon be required to register and report to the central bank.”". This rules are set so that money laundering and other illicit activities will not affect the economy of the Philippines but rather with this policies the Central Bank has seen that bitcoin will bring economic advantages to the country.

It is a great news for bitcoin enthusiasts in the Philippines we are happy for you guys but I just wish others could emulate and implement such policies in their countries so that all will feel safe in dealing with Bitcoin and not push it to the dark world of the internet.

[Mometaskers]

Well I hope this is for the better. I'm still quite a newbie with regards to bitcoins and I use coins.ph to store whatever meager amount of coin I have. They are already quite strict even before this circular. I had my photo taken as well as asked to submit an ID and it took them days to confirm it. Maybe this would better the reputation of bitcoin here and banks in general. The scandal caused by the Bangladeshi stolen fund was definitely an embarrassment for the country.

[BitFinnese]

I though bitcoin transaction are de-centralized and pseudo-anonymous? With this development, the Philippines Central bank will not have total control and the local exchanger registered users are now subjected to the new circular. So goodbye for being anonymous which defeat the purpose of using bitcoin as mode of online payment and transaction.

Users can still be anonymous if they do not use exchanges here in the Philippines.  If people will keep on Bitcoin only, they do not have to submit all those documents because only the exchanges where being regulated not the Bitcoin users themselves.  But the moment we use these exchanges to convert Bitcoin to our local money, then we have to follow the rules since from pseudo-anonymous and decentralized currency (bitcoin) to centralized currency (money).  We are dealing with local money here so it is normal that you present your personal details.

[maku]

Quite standard move, nothing unexpected and drastic. At least Philippines recognized bitcoin as serious phenomena and now will standardize bitcoin law.
Let's hope that will only bolster consumer protection as only professional exchanges will be allowed to exist under this new act.
Unfortunately without AML regulations there is no way we will be able push bitcoin adoption further.

[BrewMaster]

it is funny that nobody talks about it, Philippines, Canada and other countries have set so many regulations for bitcoin and its usage Coinbase which is located in US is working with the IRS and reporting every single user's transaction to them. and nobody talks about it.

but when China wants to prevent money laundry through exchanges, everybody panics!

[maku]

but when China wants to prevent money laundry through exchanges, everybody panics!

If by 'everybody' you meant small number of Chinese traders then yes, they are extremely susceptible to even slight dose of FUD.
You can meet weak hands everywhere and it is quite a shame that actions of minority might influence bitcoin's price on a global level.
They need to educate themselves of bitcoin legal status outside China, then maybe they realize China's bitcoin regulation is rather lax.