The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked the two leading application stores to remove the Binance app from online marketplaces accessible in the Philippines.
It said that while the Binance’s cryptocurrency website was blocked in the Philippines, investors were still able to access the company’s apps on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
The SEC sent separate letters to Google and Apple on April 19, 2024 requesting for the removal of the applications controlled by Binance.com.
“The SEC has identified [Binance] and concluded that the public’s continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos,” SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino said in the letter.
Aquino said the sale or offer of unregistered securities to Filipinos and operating as an unregistered broker constitutes a violation of Republic Act No. 8799 or The Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
Aquino said removing and blocking the applications of Binance would “prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, and to protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy”.
Binance offers a platform for trading financial instruments and investment products— including spot trading using leverage, futures contracts, option contracts, cryptocurrency savings accounts, cryptocurrency staking services and a platform for initial coin offerings.
It has an average daily trading volume of $65 billion covering more than 402 cryptocurrencies, with a membership of over 183 million, making it the largest cryptocurrency site in the world, according to its website.
The SEC said the group was actively employing promotional campaigns on social media to attract Filipinos to engage in investment and trading activities using its platforms.
It said, however, that Binance had not secured a license to solicit investments from the public, nor create or operate an exchange for the buying and selling of securities from the SEC.
The SEC in March requested the National Telecommunications Commission to block access to websites used by Binance in the Philippines to help stop its unauthorized investment solicitation activities.
It also urged Filipino investors with investments in Binance to immediately close their positions and/or transfer their cryptocurrency holdings to their own crypto wallets or in accounts with cryptocurrency service providers that are duly registered in the Philippines.