Binance regains Philippine trading access via SEC sandbox

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance can now provide trading access to users in the Philippines through a new arrangement with local firm BlockShoals, which operates under a regulatory sandbox program run by the country's Securities and Exchange Commission. The development marks Binance's return to the Philippine market after regulators moved to restrict access to its platform over licensing concerns in 2024.

According to Marie Antonette Quiogue, head of legal at BlockShoals, the arrangement allows the company to act as an intermediary, connecting Philippine users to Binance's global trading platform under the SEC's crypto asset service provider framework, known as the Strategic Sandbox or StratBox. She emphasized that this structure permits trading activities, which she said fall under SEC jurisdiction, but explicitly excludes handling peso transfers or other functions regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the nation's central bank.

The BSP has stated that neither Binance nor BlockShoals is authorized to operate as a virtual asset service provider in the Philippines. The central bank clarified that participation in the SEC's regulatory sandbox does not exempt an entity from...