The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making strides toward restricting the access of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. This development comes after Binance’s main executive stepped down while admitting to violating U.S anti-money laundering laws.
- Binance PH Status: The SEC stated that Binance’s operator is not a registered corporation in the Philippines. Furthermore, it does not possess the required license and authority to offer or sell any form of securities.
- Binance PH Life Expectancy: Filipino users have a grace period of three months to withdraw their investments from the crypto exchange. This period starts from November 28th, when the SEC issued its advisory.
- SEC Requests: Major tech corporations Google and Facebook’s parent company, Meta, have been requested by the SEC to ban Binance’s online advertisements in the Philippines. There’s a stern warning for those selling or persuading others to invest in the platform– they may face criminal charges.
- Background Info: Binance’s former chief, Changpeng Zhao, resigned from his CEO position last week. He pleaded guilty to intentionally causing the exchange to lack a sufficient anti-money laundering program.
Binance isn’t the only target. Taking a hard stance against unauthorized online investment entities, the SEC issued similar advisories against Octa Trading and MiTrade.