BSP warns public not to deal with unapproved virtual currency exchanges

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday warned the public against dealing with virtual currency (VC) exchanges that are not approved to do business in the country.

“The BSP advises the public that operators of ATMs that allow purchase or exchange of Virtual Currencies such as Bitcoin, must be registered with the BSP as VC Exchanges under Circular No. 944,” the BSP said in an advisory posted online.

PUBLIC ADVISORY: Virtual Currency ATMs

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Regulation on VC ATMs: https://t.co/fx4aeipfQ4

List of registered VCEs:https://t.co/bMWd1jUSIf

FAQs on VCs, Regulations, Risks and Opportunities:https://t.co/t3xv552jcU pic.twitter.com/VpKdrYzNcK

— Bangko Sentral (@BangkoSentral) June 17, 2019

Circular 944, dated February 6, 2017, refers to the Virtual Currency Exchange (VCE) as “any entity that offers services or engages in activities that provide facility for the conversion or exchange of fiat currency to VC or vice versa.”

It also provides the detailed rules and regulations governing the registration, operations, and reporting obligations of VCEs in the Philippines.

“The BSP recommends that VC users deal only with BSP-registered VCEs, and maintain only a sufficient amount of VC to cover transactional requirements,” said the BSP.

“The public is reminded that the BSP does not endorse any type of VC or cryptocurrency as legal tender, store of value, or investment instrument,” it elaborated.

According to data from the BSP Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision Department, there are 10 licensed cryptocurrency exchanges in the country as of March 31, 2019.

They are ABA Global Phils. Inc., Betur Inc. (Coins.ph), Bexpress Inc., BloomSolutions Inc.; Coinville Phils. Inc., eTranss Remittance International Corp., Fyntegrate Inc., Rebittance Inc., Virtual Currency Philippines Inc., and Zybi Tech Inc. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News