Access to Coinbase and Gemini has been restricted in the Philippines.

The Philippines continues to tighten regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges, restricting access to major platforms such as Coinbase and Gemini. This situation arose as local internet service providers acted in accordance with regulators' directives. Users reported that they could not access these platforms as of Tuesday.

According to a report by Manila Bulletin, the directive issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) foresaw the restriction of access to 50 online trading platforms operating without licenses. These platforms were flagged as unlicensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines. The central bank has not publicly disclosed the complete list of the blocked platforms.

This development clearly indicates that the approach towards the cryptocurrency market in the Philippines has shifted from tolerance to active oversight. It appears that having a local license has become a decisive factor for market access. Similar restrictions were previously imposed on Binance, and a noticeable increase in regulatory scrutiny has been observed. In December 2023, a 90-day compliance period was granted for Binance, and in March 2024, the NTC issued a directive to local providers to block access. The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission then requested Apple and Google to remove the Binance app from their stores, and most recently, it was announced that 10 exchanges, including OKX, Bybit, and KuCoin, were operating without licenses.

The increase in all this pressure has allowed licensed companies to offer new solutions. On November 19, the exchange PDAX collaborated with payroll company Toku to enable remote workers to receive salaries in stablecoin. Additionally, on December 8, digital bank GoTyme launched a service through its application, in partnership with Alpaca, allowing the purchase and storage of 11 crypto assets.