SEC Sets To Ban Binance Exchange Operations In Philippines
A recent report revealed that the Philippines Security and Exchange Commission (PSEC) is planning to ban Binance exchange from operating in the region in late February next year. In a panel meeting hosted on Wednesday at Coins.ph, the chairman of the Philippines SEC, Kelvin Lee, announced that the regulatory commission is currently taking all required actions to ban Binance from operating in the country.
According to reports, the crypto community in the Philippines was confused and worried about the advisory recently released by the PSEC, warning investors about the current status of Binance as an unregistered exchange in the region. However, in order to placate the issue, a panel was created to iron out the public misconception concerning the proposed ban on Binance exchange. Furthermore, Commissioner Kelvin Lee stated that the ban was supposed to take effect three months after the commission issued it on November 29 which intimately falls on February ending of next year. However, he pointed out that the implementation date might be extended depending on the feedback received, even though it has a good chance of commencing at the same date.
PSEC Claimed Binance Is Unregistered
In the advisory the PSEC earlier announced in November highlighted that the giant cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is prohibited from offering or selling securities in the country. More so, it claimed that Binance is facing the sanction because it is not registered under the appropriate authority in the Philippines nor does it have an approved Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from PSEC. For context, a Virtual Asset Service Provider license is a permit that crypto exchanges need to perform crypto-to-fiat transactions, trades, management as well as keep custody of digital assets deposited by customers.
In addition, the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission said that based on their database, the operator of Binance exchange is not among the registered corporations under the Philippines authority and it conducts businesses without having the necessary license that approves its securities sales and other services it offers investors in the country.
Lee Answers Critics On The Issue
Meanwhile, reports revealed that shortly after the commission announced the advisory to Binance customers, Chair Lee received heavy criticism prompting him to discuss the basis of the ban in the organized panel. During his speech, Kelvin Lee claimed that both Meta and Google have obliged the Philippines SEC’s request to disallow any ads related to Binance exchange from displaying in the country. Currently, the commission did not disclose much detail on the pronouncement; however, it is quite significant to note that Google has recently changed some vital details of its advertising protocols for cryptocurrency, ahead of the upcoming endorsement of a Bitcoin Exchange-traded fund.
Additionally, Lee said he has received many questions on why his commission had decided to ban Binance now that its services are getting cheaper and more accessible. Responding to the critics, the commissioner stated that Binance’s services are cheap because it never registered with the authorities of the country not bothered to comply with their policies. He pointed out that unlike other entities that are registered, who have to pay for course compliance costs made mandatory for all virtual assets service providers.
New York Bans And Fines KuCoin $22 million
Meanwhile, in another news report, KuCoin exchange is set to face huge fines over regulatory breaches from the New York authorities. According to the report, the Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, ruled against KuCoin, mandating it to pay a whopping sum of $22 million as a penalty for operating as a broker offering commodities and securities to New York investors without registering with the appropriate authority.
According to the settlement deal KuCoin agreed to, it has to refund a whopping $16.7 million to over 150,000 investors who deposited on the platform. In addition, the exchange is mandated to pay a fine of $5 million to the State’s regulators. Additionally, KuCoin agreed with the authorities to block New York investors from accessing its services. Remarking on the issue, Attorney General James pointed out that cryptocurrency firms are obligated to comply with the same rules as traditional financial institutions.
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