The Philippines has moved once again to tighten its hold on the crypto market. The country's central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has rolled out fresh coin and token listing guidelines that force every licensed Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) to run rigorous due diligence and accreditation before putting any digital asset in front of customers.
Who Issued It and Why
The memorandum was signed by Deputy Governor Lyn Javier. According to the BSP, the rules are aimed at "promoting financial stability and protecting the financial welfare of customers by ensuring that VA services are provided in a safe, sound, and consumer-centric manner."
A Hard Ban on Privacy Coins
The headline move is a complete ban: anonymity-enhancing cryptocurrencies, widely known as privacy coins, can no longer be listed or supported by VASPs. Monero, Zcash and Dash fall into this bucket — assets built to let users transact while shielding the trail from surveillance.
Constant Monitoring and Delisting Triggers
The new memorandum tells exchanges to keep monitoring listed assets on an ongoing basis and to set thresholds that could trigger a suspension or delisting. Those triggers include loss of liquidity, insolvency of the issuer, involvement in a scandal or scam, de-pegging, material security breaches, or misleading disclosures.
What the Industry Makes of It
Alden Yburan, head of crypto at GCash, told TrendKia, "This is long overdue, and I think this is the right call. I don't think this is bureaucratic red tape; this is the minimum bar any responsible platform should already be applying before listing an asset to retail users." He added, "Stronger listing standards would lead to better products."
He was more torn on the privacy ban. Assets like Monero and Zcash "exist for legitimate reasons," he said, because privacy is "a foundational value in crypto, the ability to transact without surveillance." Yet he also conceded, "On the other hand, PH is remittance-heavy, we can't be positioning the ecosystem as a trusted financial infra while simultaneously allowing anonymity-enhancing assets to flow freely."
Two Regulators, Not One
The memo flags that platforms may have to answer to securities regulators at the same time, requiring compliance with "the SEC's CASP Rules and Guidance" if a token is offered as a security. In practice, crypto firms in the Philippines report to two separate authorities: the SEC oversees crypto-asset service providers on the securities side, while the BSP licenses VASPs for payment and transaction rails. Firms have to satisfy each one independently.
The Philippines' Adoption Standing
The country sits ninth worldwide on Chainalysis's 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, part of an APAC bloc that grew 69% year-over-year to lead grassroots adoption.
The Crackdown Already Underway
This builds on earlier action. Last June the SEC enacted Memorandum Circular No. 5, which forced crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to register locally, hold $1.8 million (₱100 million) in paid-up capital, store customer data within the country, and report to both the SEC and the Anti-Money Laundering Council. By August, the commission had cut off access to 10 offshore platforms, including OKX, Bybit, Kraken, and KuCoin.
Luis Buenaventura, President at the Blockchain Council of the Philippines, previously told TrendKia that the SEC's rules created "a competitive advantage for licensed players," and argued the wider crackdown would gradually steer users toward compliant services.
Putting the Budget On-Chain
Lawmakers are pushing on a separate front, weighing Senate Bill 1330, which would place the national budget on-chain. The proposal follows mass protests over roughly $9.2 billion in flagged public works spending.
Binance's Bid to Return
Global crypto exchange Binance is trying to re-enter the Philippines through local partner BlockShoals Technologies Inc., which secured initial SEC clearance in November under the StratBox regulatory sandbox, according to a TrendKia report. The BSP, however, has stated that neither Binance nor BlockShoals holds a VASP license, and that sandbox participation "doesn't substitute for central bank licensing."
The SEC has since dialed back its own wording, reclassifying Binance as a "global crypto-asset service provider" rather than a global VASP. It now requires BlockShoals to integrate with a licensed domestic VASP within 90 days before onboarding any users through Binance infrastructure.
