Philippines SEC Issues Advisory Against Binance Operations

• Binance has attracted the attention of the Philippines securities watchdog.
• The regulator issued an advisory against the exchange.
• The regulator also warned Binance “enablers” in the Philippines.

Binance , the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume, is facing regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and beyond.

Hardly a week after agreeing to a $4 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which saw Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down from his CEO role and plead guilty to multiple federal counts, Binance caught the attention of the Philippines authorities.

On November 28, the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an advisory against Binance, warning the public that the exchange’s operator wasn’t a registered corporation.

Binance Operates in the Philippines Without a License

According to the SEC’s advisory , Binance has been actively leveraging promotional campaigns on social media networks to “attract and entice Filipinos to engage in investment and trading activities” via its website and mobile application platforms.

The regulator asserted that through its website, Binance “claims to operate a facility to trade financial instruments,” offering a range of investment products, including crypto savings accounts, futures contracts, spot contracts, digital asset staking, and a platform for initial coin offerings.

Emphasizing that crypto exchanges must meet various requirements before offering securities and investment products to the public, the regulator asserted that Binance operators are registered brokers/dealers overseas but not in the Philippines.

“Based on the Commission’s database, the operator of the platform Binance is not registered as a corporation in the Philippines and operates without the necessary license and/or authority to sell or offer any form of securities as defined under Section 3.1 of the SRC,” the SEC stated.

Besides warning the public to exercise caution before investing in unregistered investment platforms and their representatives, the regulator had a resounding message for crypto influencers .  

Binance “Enablers” Put on Notice

The SEC warned that the “enablers” of the Binance platform in selling or convincing people to invest with the exchange are criminally liable under Section 28 of the SRC and can be penalized with a fine of 5 million pesos and/or imprisonment of 21 years.

Per the SEC, these enablers include salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, representatives, promoters, recruiters, influencers, and endorsers.

Stay updated on CZ’s $175M bond:
Binance Ex-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao Released on a $175M Bond

Read more about the Binance-DOJ settlement and CZ’s resignation:
Here’s What Binance’s $4B Settlement and CZ’s Resignation Means