Philippine Central Bank approves licenses for 2 cryptocurrency exchanges?

[Yuhee]

If this is true there won't be a problem building up an exchange business here because in the Philippines Bitcoin cam be freely traded as it is not classified as an illegal currency. The only bad thing about this is of the business will not be true about there annual incom tax return. As they will be heavily scrutized if abused. Another thing to point out is the possibility of establishing more than a market but we might also see local businesses accepting Bitcoin soon.

Seeing Philippines still has a lot of issues on drugs it would take time for the government to fully utilize it for the public. I have not read a specific company in those article. Or its just me reading it wrong. I just read laws and articles about money laundering. And i am not sure what we're those companies they are talking about. Some citizen has already made way to accommodate btc in their own accord and i think it's just the government that was late in accepting btc.

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[rjbtc2017]

I have read from ETH News that the Central Bank approves licenses for two cryptocurrency exchanges. Do you think it is true? They said the implementing rules are still to come out. Is it really true?

How will it affect the Philippine banking system?

Implementing rules are still to come out? I don't think that this is true, as far as i know BSP will not regulate Virtual Currencies, and there are two exchanges that i know in the Philippines, coins.ph which is the famous one and rebit.ph which i have not yet checked. I think this is not true.

[CryptoBry]

I have read from ETH News that the Central Bank approves licenses for two cryptocurrency exchanges. Do you think it is true? They said the implementing rules are still to come out. Is it really true?

How will it affect the Philippine banking system?

Implementing rules are still to come out? I don't think that this is true, as far as i know BSP will not regulate Virtual Currencies, and there are two exchanges that i know in the Philippines, coins.ph which is the famous one and rebit.ph which i have not yet checked. I think this is not true.

When we say regulate it means that there are some rules that are establish for doing business for a certain industry...it does not mean actually control but laying a fair level field for all possible participants to the said business. The BSP had already announced these two Bitcoin exchange applicants and I think next year they can start operating here as both have foreign roots meaning they are not homegrown companies.

[rjbtc2017]

I have read from ETH News that the Central Bank approves licenses for two cryptocurrency exchanges. Do you think it is true? They said the implementing rules are still to come out. Is it really true?

How will it affect the Philippine banking system?

Implementing rules are still to come out? I don't think that this is true, as far as i know BSP will not regulate Virtual Currencies, and there are two exchanges that i know in the Philippines, coins.ph which is the famous one and rebit.ph which i have not yet checked. I think this is not true.

When we say regulate it means that there are some rules that are establish for doing business for a certain industry...it does not mean actually control but laying a fair level field for all possible participants to the said business. The BSP had already announced these two Bitcoin exchange applicants and I think next year they can start operating here as both have foreign roots meaning they are not homegrown companies.

I just thought they just given a warning and announcement about bitcoin or virtual currencies, regulation will not be done by BSP that's what i know for now , without regulation means there will be no tax, they will not be handling the exchanges, and i think coins.ph is not even regulated by BSP.

[Schuyler]

This is good news especially to those who are working overseas as they will have more options to remit their money to the Philippines. I have been using coins.ph for a while now and they better keep improving as competition is looming in the horizon. And to think that the volume has more than doubled to about $6 million per month from only $2 million per month the previous year, it says a lot about how bitcoin has been accepted in just a short period of time.

[Kemarit]

If this is true there won't be a problem building up an exchange business here because in the Philippines Bitcoin cam be freely traded as it is not classified as an illegal currency. The only bad thing about this is of the business will not be true about there annual incom tax return. As they will be heavily scrutized if abused. Another thing to point out is the possibility of establishing more than a market but we might also see local businesses accepting Bitcoin soon.

Seeing Philippines still has a lot of issues on drugs it would take time for the government to fully utilize it for the public. I have not read a specific company in those article. Or its just me reading it wrong. I just read laws and articles about money laundering. And i am not sure what we're those companies they are talking about. Some citizen has already made way to accommodate btc in their own accord and i think it's just the government that was late in accepting btc.

Because Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas or Central Bank of the Philippines has declined to identify them yet. Drugs is another issue, it has nothing to do with bitcoin being regulated. And if ever this 2 exchanges or trading platforms are approved, we are going to see a real and rapid boom of Filipinos going into bitcoin. It may doubled or tripled the current Filipino users so its really a welcome news not only for Filipino bitcoin enthusiast but for the whole bitcoin ecosystem in general. Let us see how this pans out I speculate that we are going to see in early 2018 who are those 2 exchanges that will compete against coins.ph.

[South Park]

I'm from the Philippines and I haven't heard of this news. It would be convenient for bitcoin users in the country if this were to be true.

I'm not sure how these exchanges would affect the Philippine banking systems, because I think that the bitcoin users would utilize these exchanges to their advantage. The local exchange wallet, coins.ph, allows bitcoin owners to easily exchange their BTC and transfer it to banks. If these exchanges have lower transactions fees, then I think the bitcoin users would opt to use this. Perhaps if these exchanges offer services that utilizes the banks as well then it would be a win-win situation for the banks and the exchanges.

Hoping this news is true. This could provide better opportunities for BTC owners and users in the country, and may attract new users as well.

This means more money for the pocket of corrupt officials.  They are not interested on the security of the exchanges, rather they are after on the bitcoin users who have fat wallet and charge them with taxes.  They said they are concerned about the security, but that is just to cover that they are after milllion dollar industry to milk.

On the lighter side, this will encourage more Filipino to join in the bitcoin community because of the said "security" being implemented by the BSP (the reason for the registration)

This is obvious, as long as bitcoin was small they did not care because it was too much of a hassle to monitor and regulate bitcoin but now that there is a lot of money they want their share of the cake and they are not going to stop until they get it.

[ModGirl]

I haven't heard about this yet, by the way,  I'm from the Philippines. But if this is true, it's a good news for us, I just hope that the government don't tax it.

This is the great step from Philippine government, I think they starting believe that these crypocurrencies are the future of internet market, and why you don’t know about this yet, I mean if it happen in my country I’ll celebrate this happiness with my friends because it actually increase my profit, and anything that make us rich are worthy to celebrate.

[electronicash]

bought a domain a year ago with the intention to created my own exchange in the philippines, if this is true i might be able to pursue it. maybe a little help from friends will make this dream a reality. or i could just sell the domain for profit.

[tabas]

bought a domain a year ago with the intention to created my own exchange in the philippines, if this is true i might be able to pursue it. maybe a little help from friends will make this dream a reality. or i could just sell the domain for profit.

Then good luck with your exchange, I know you can make it and you've got a ton to work for with that. More competition and more choice will be good for the customers that wants to exchange their bitcoins and whomever will have the cheapest buying rate and highest selling rate will win this competition. Great news, bitcoin is legit in PH then.

[Hydrogen]

I have read from ETH News that the Central Bank approves licenses for two cryptocurrency exchanges. Do you think it is true? They said the implementing rules are still to come out. Is it really true?

How will it affect the Philippine banking system?

This is the best source for this news article I could find:

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/08/19/1730418/bsp-approves-registration-2-bitcoin-exchange-operators

BSP approves registration of 2 bitcoin exchange operators

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved the registration of two companies to engage in the operation of bitcoin exchanges as part of efforts to regulate the fast growing but potentially risky virtual currency industry.

BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said during the FinTech Thought Leadership Roundtable Series presented by FINTQ, the central bank has given the two companies the green light to operate bitcoin exchanges.

“They are local based but they have international roots,” Espenilla said.

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds. People could buy and sell bitcoins by tapping dealers or brokers or going to bitcoin exchanges.

Holders could also look for services or goods whose merchants accept bitcoin payments.

Last January, the BSP issued Circular 944 laying down the guidelines for virtual currency exchanges. It is the policy of the central bank to provide an environment that encourages financial innovation while at the same time ensure that the Philippines will not be used for money laundering or terrorist financing activities and that the financial system and financial consumers are adequately protected.

Thus, the regulator recognizes that virtual currency systems have the potential to revolutionize the delivery of financial services, particularly for payments and remittance, in view of their ability to provide faster and more economical transfer of funds, both domestic and international, and may further support financial inclusion.

“We see a rapid increase in the trajectory. It is coming from a small base but increasing that is why we decided to require them to register,” Espenilla said.

The BSP chief said volume has more than doubled to about $6 million per month from only $2 million per month the previous year.

“That is the importance of putting them under the regulatory framework. They have to comply with it. We are moving to regulate them,” he said.

The BSP circular states virtual currency exchanges providing a facility for the conversion or exchange of fiat currency or government-issued currency to virtual currency are considered similar to remittance and transfer companies and should be covered by Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.

Meanwhile, Espenilla said the BSP is also set to issue an information technology (IT) risk management framework to upgrade its basic framework under Circular 808 issued in 2013.

“It will have enhanced expectations on cybersecurity risk management, that is one. It will further open up the use cases for cloud technology in banking applications, and the third one it if further strengthen the governance responsibilities of the banks boards and management to make sure that the IT systems of their institutions are robust and resilient to cyber crime as well as disasters,” he said.

According to him, banks invested heavily level up their IT management.

“Banks today are less concerned about regulatory requirements for their own risks. Even without regulations, a bank is very vulnerable to cybercrime and can lose money much more than any other penalty,” he said.  

Looks legit. Excited to see what this can do for the philippines and the crypto industry as a whole.

If russia can follow through on their claims of investing $200M into crypto mining that would be great, too.

Also this part of the article which talks about "international roots" seems to imply both exchanges are run by international (central) banks which would mean they are "regulated" for those who feel safer about working with state based regulation, etc:

BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said during the FinTech Thought Leadership Roundtable Series presented by FINTQ, the central bank has given the two companies the green light to operate bitcoin exchanges.

“They are local based but they have international roots,” Espenilla said.

[rjbtc2017]

I have read from ETH News that the Central Bank approves licenses for two cryptocurrency exchanges. Do you think it is true? They said the implementing rules are still to come out. Is it really true?

How will it affect the Philippine banking system?

This is the best source for this news article I could find:

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/08/19/1730418/bsp-approves-registration-2-bitcoin-exchange-operators

BSP approves registration of 2 bitcoin exchange operators

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved the registration of two companies to engage in the operation of bitcoin exchanges as part of efforts to regulate the fast growing but potentially risky virtual currency industry.

BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said during the FinTech Thought Leadership Roundtable Series presented by FINTQ, the central bank has given the two companies the green light to operate bitcoin exchanges.

“They are local based but they have international roots,” Espenilla said.

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds. People could buy and sell bitcoins by tapping dealers or brokers or going to bitcoin exchanges.

Holders could also look for services or goods whose merchants accept bitcoin payments.

Last January, the BSP issued Circular 944 laying down the guidelines for virtual currency exchanges. It is the policy of the central bank to provide an environment that encourages financial innovation while at the same time ensure that the Philippines will not be used for money laundering or terrorist financing activities and that the financial system and financial consumers are adequately protected.

Thus, the regulator recognizes that virtual currency systems have the potential to revolutionize the delivery of financial services, particularly for payments and remittance, in view of their ability to provide faster and more economical transfer of funds, both domestic and international, and may further support financial inclusion.

“We see a rapid increase in the trajectory. It is coming from a small base but increasing that is why we decided to require them to register,” Espenilla said.

The BSP chief said volume has more than doubled to about $6 million per month from only $2 million per month the previous year.

“That is the importance of putting them under the regulatory framework. They have to comply with it. We are moving to regulate them,” he said.

The BSP circular states virtual currency exchanges providing a facility for the conversion or exchange of fiat currency or government-issued currency to virtual currency are considered similar to remittance and transfer companies and should be covered by Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.

Meanwhile, Espenilla said the BSP is also set to issue an information technology (IT) risk management framework to upgrade its basic framework under Circular 808 issued in 2013.

“It will have enhanced expectations on cybersecurity risk management, that is one. It will further open up the use cases for cloud technology in banking applications, and the third one it if further strengthen the governance responsibilities of the banks boards and management to make sure that the IT systems of their institutions are robust and resilient to cyber crime as well as disasters,” he said.

According to him, banks invested heavily level up their IT management.

“Banks today are less concerned about regulatory requirements for their own risks. Even without regulations, a bank is very vulnerable to cybercrime and can lose money much more than any other penalty,” he said.  

Looks legit. Excited to see what this can do for the philippines and the crypto industry as a whole.

If russia can follow through on their claims of investing $200M into crypto mining that would be great, too.

Also this part of the article which talks about "international roots" seems to imply both exchanges are run by international (central) banks which would mean they are "regulated" for those who feel safer about working with state based regulation, etc:

BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said during the FinTech Thought Leadership Roundtable Series presented by FINTQ, the central bank has given the two companies the green light to operate bitcoin exchanges.

“They are local based but they have international roots,” Espenilla said.

Therefore, they will really regulate all exchanges and the current one, which is coins.ph, and as far as i understand the article, i think it is just for monitoring the transactions in order to make the philippines safe from money laundering and other illegal activities, I don't see BSP will give taxes to the users but rather to impose tax on income and operation of the exchanges which will surely impose transaction fees ( i think , different from bitcoin transaction fee) as their income.

[CARrency]

bought a domain a year ago with the intention to created my own exchange in the philippines, if this is true i might be able to pursue it. maybe a little help from friends will make this dream a reality. or i could just sell the domain for profit.

Good luck with your own exchanger. I just hope you become successful with it. But I think you will be facing a lot of formidable opponents like Coins and Rebit. If you are going to open your own exchanger, you must have a good promos or some giveaways. Also, you need a massive capital for this.

[mongkie]

this is a good and bad news. the goood news is cryptocurrencies will be widely accepted and promoted in the phillipines
and the badnews is the government may regulate and input taxes on crypto tradings. sad.

[kyori]

If it is true it is good for us to hold more bitcoin but the main reason why they allow it because Rothschild owns the Central Bank and wants to control the Philippine economy by himself.

[Nameless27]

Regulating bitcoin doesn't mean we don't have much freedom than before. It just that our government recognized the fact that criminal-minded person/users will used bitcoin as gateway to be unidentifiable when doing illegal transactions.

I support such moved by this government as long as it is for the safety of the bitcoin users/citezen of that country. And hoping those banks official not doing it for corruption to have under table giveaways from those company and manipulation of that exchange as a whole.

[Casmania]

Regulating bitcoin doesn't mean we don't have much freedom than before. It just that our government recognized the fact that criminal-minded person/users will used bitcoin as gateway to be unidentifiable when doing illegal transactions.

I support such moved by this government as long as it is for the safety of the bitcoin users/citezen of that country. And hoping those banks official not doing it for corruption to have under table giveaways from those company and manipulation of that exchange as a whole.

Point taken, I agree that it must be regulated for the safety and the security and I hope that the government did recognize the possibility of bitcoin to be used as some way for corruption or in transacting illegal investments and such. There must be some rules to be implemented strictly for this in order for the regulators to get a thorough monitoring and in maintaining order.

[Kemarit]

bought a domain a year ago with the intention to created my own exchange in the philippines, if this is true i might be able to pursue it. maybe a little help from friends will make this dream a reality. or i could just sell the domain for profit.

Good luck with your own exchanger. I just hope you become successful with it. But I think you will be facing a lot of formidable opponents like Coins and Rebit. If you are going to open your own exchanger, you must have a good promos or some giveaways. Also, you need a massive capital for this.

I think competition will be good. Its gonna be a healthy one. Coins and Rebit will not to really level up the services, otherwise most of their customers will go to the new trading platform.
I'm waiting for those 2 new exchanges and I'm really excited to see how those platform will differ from the current 2 dominant exchanges specially coins.ph. As far as taxes is concern, its the exchanges that will be tax, not the people if I understand it.

If it is true it is good for us to hold more bitcoin but the main reason why they allow it because Rothschild owns the Central Bank and wants to control the Philippine economy by himself.

LOL. Where did you got this shit man? How do Rothschild control the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas? If you can show us proof then maybe Pinoy will believe what you have claim to be.

[megynacuna]

this is a good and bad news. the goood news is cryptocurrencies will be widely accepted and promoted in the phillipines
and the badnews is the government may regulate and input taxes on crypto tradings. sad.

Then why don't you opt to trade on international exchanges rather than the localized ones in Philippines after all you can make your withdrawals into your bitcoins wallet and cash them in Philippines with no problem.

[Mhedz]

If this news is got to be true,then this a great news for filipino people who is using bitcoin. And it will more great if all bank will accept bitcoin.