A think tank group has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to exercise its regulatory powers to clamp down on the cryptocurrency exchange’s activities in the country.
Former congressman and Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon made the call after filing a letter-complaint urging the SEC to investigate the Binance firm’s operations in the country.
“Aside from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the other main regulator of virtual currency exchanges is the Securities and Exchange Commission. It has served the public well by banning unscrupulous online lending services. It should similarly do the same for unregistered and unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges in the country,” Ridon said.
Ridon said Binance has been operating in the Philippines for several years without the required government permits and licenses.
“Based on reports, Binance has no office in Manila and only uses third-party companies that employ Filipinos for its technical and customer support services. In fact, former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez himself said that Binance has no records with the SEC and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP),” Ridon said.
He also said Binance has been offering financial products, such as spot trading, margin trading, futures contracts, options, crypto loans, P2P trading, despite being unregistered with the SEC.
“We believe these products are in the nature of securities, which under SEC rules, may “not be sold or offered for sale or distribution within the Philippines without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.”
Ridon added that no less than the SEC itself issued a warning against futures contracts, and this is precisely one of the transactions which Binance offers to the public.
Ridon said millions of unsuspecting consumers and cryptocurrency traders were at risk of losing their hard-earned money without protection from the government, while the billions worth of digital asset transactions in the country is compromised due to Binance’s disregard of Philippine laws.
“The SEC itself has issued an advisory against dealing with unregistered foreign companies, including unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges. This letter-complaint should serve as a test case for the Commission on its resolve to protect the investing public,” Ridon said.