Philippines Restricts Access to Coinbase and Gemini

The Philippines continues to strengthen its oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges, restricting access to major platforms like Coinbase and Gemini. This situation arose as local internet service providers acted in accordance with the directives of regulators. Users reported that, as of Tuesday, they were unable to access these platforms.

According to a report by Manila Bulletin, the instruction 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 Philippines' central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The central bank has not yet made the complete list of the blocked platforms public.

This development clearly indicates a shift in the Philippines' approach to the cryptocurrency market from tolerance to actual regulation. It seems that having a local license has become a determining factor for market access. Similar restrictions were previously imposed on Binance, and it has been observed that the scrutiny has intensified. In December 2023, a 90-day compliance period was granted to Binance, and in March 2024, the NTC issued a directive to block access for local providers. The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission subsequently asked Apple and Google to remove the Binance app from their stores, and finally, it was stated 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 partnered with payroll company Toku to enable remote workers to receive their salaries in stablecoins. Additionally, on December 8, the digital bank GoTyme launched a service through its application, allowing the purchase and custody of 11 crypto assets in partnership with Alpaca.