The article was updated on 18 November, 2019 by Amicus.
25 June 2019 | AtoZ Markets - Yet, in addition to the 11 operators registered by the central bank “Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” more 37 crypto exchange operators have been recently authorized to operate in the market.
The 11 registered crypto exchanges will operate in the Philippines under the ruling of the most recent list of Remittance and Transfer Companies with Money Changing or Foreign Exchange Dealing and Virtual Currency (VC) Exchange Service.
Those 11 exchanges that were licensed. Those are Betur Inc. dba Coins. Ph, Rebittance Inc., Bloomsolutions Inc., Virtual Currency Philippines Inc., Etranss Remittance International Corp., Fyntegrate Inc., Zybi Tech Inc., Bexpress Inc., Coinville Phils Inc., Aba Global Philippines Inc., and Bitan Moneytech Co. Ltd.
The formal regulatory approach to cryptocurrency the central bank. However, that adopted through the issuance of Circular No. 944 dated Feb. 7, 2017 dictates “BSP-registered VC exchanges. Those also now require to put in place adequate safeguards to address the risks. That associated with VCs such as basic controls on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, technology risk management and consumer protection.”
The bank, however, unveiled that it had not authorized any cryptocurrency ATM. That installed in any location in the Philippines. Or it should not manage online platforms for them and other crypto transactions.
The notice stresses out those crypto ATM operators must register with the central bank VC exchanges under the circular above. With a separate approval, it likely required from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the issuance of initial coin offerings and operation of crypto trading platforms.
More 37 crypto companies
In addition to the abovementioned-registered companies, CEZA has recently issued licenses. That is for the other 37 exchanges to operate in the market.
CEZA is a government-owned and controlled corporation. It dedicated to manage and supervise the development of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport. That is a 54,119-hectare area located at the northeastern tip of the country. It identifies itself “as a freeport. Also, it operates as a separate customs territory similar to Hong Kong, Singapore, Labuan in Malaysia, and Hamburg in Germany,” offering foreign companies “incentives and advantages,” as per their description.
“These developments are all deemed toward attracting legitimate and productive local and foreign investments and, thus, creating employment opportunities in and around the freeport,” elaborates the website.
On his turn, CEZA Administrator and CEO Raul L. Lambino said: “We are making CEZA a sandbox for the development of these disruptive technologies, serving as a laboratory for interested parties to experiment on these new dimensions of business enterprise.”
Read More: 37 Million sETH drain from Synthetix in a hack
Offshore Fintech business and crypto exchange licenses
The 37 companies issued licenses under its “Financial Technology Solutions and Offshore Virtual Currency Exchange (OVCE) Business Rules and Regulations of 2018.” According to the nature of the two licenses issues, there are now 24 companies that are allowed to conduct offshore Fintech business and crypto exchange activities, as per the license issued to them, and they are:
The 24 Principal licensees are Golden Millenial Quickpay, Ultra-Precise Investment, Liannet Technology, Rare Earth Asia Technologies, Formosa Financial Holdings, Tanzer Holdings, Asia Premier International, Orient Express Global, White Ranch, Dragon Empire Developments, Galaxy Plus Developments, Tiger Wheel, Ipe Global, Cr8tiv Solutions Management, Sino-Phil Economic Zone Agency Development and Management, Digifin Technologies, Hong Kong Yuen Shing Hong, First Bullion Holdings, Okcoin Philippines Technology, 6x Tech, Increz Korea, Harseq, Fafa Internet Blockchain (China), and Wangwang Quickpay Foundation.
The other 13 companies also allowed only to conduct offshore Philippines crypto exchange activities. Their license allows, and they are:
Cezex Trading, Unicorn Venture Investment, Eplata Pacific, A&C Fintech, Zipmex, Bird Mouse, Ecoflow, Adax Tech, Monetium, Bitpoint Apec Investment, Hxl (HK) Technology, Noah Ark Technologies, and Wtia.
Besides, the event of issuing the licenses to the companies above opened the door to some unlicensed firms. Those claiming that they also obtain permissions, like Freedom Traders Club, Ploutos Innovation, Ploutos Coin, Hedger Technology, Hedger Mining, Dragon Science Development, Teo Consulting Group, ECP, and Grace Exchange, as CEZA warned. However, the regulations talked about dictate. No Filipino companies, Filipino, or Philippine residents allowed to apply for a CEZA OVCE license.
Think we missed something? Let us know in the comments section below.