The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken a significant regulatory step by blocking local access to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. 

According to a release issued by the regulator on Monday, the SEC’s decision was based on Binance’s failure to obtain the necessary license from the commission to operate as an investment and trading platform. 

In its March 12 meeting, the SEC approved filing a formal request with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to assist in blocking Binance’s website and related web pages. 

The SEC said Binance was offering investment and trading services without the required license and allegedly posed a “threat” to the safety of Filipino investors’ funds. SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino emphasized the importance of protecting the interests of investors in the request sent to the NTC. Aquino states:

The SEC has identified the aforementioned platform and concluded that the public’s continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing  Filipinos.

With an average daily trading volume of $65 billion and support for over 402 cryptocurrencies, Binance has gained a substantial user base of more than 183 million members in the Asian country, according to the regulator.

However, the SEC emphasized that Binance has not obtained the necessary license to solicit investments from the public or operate a securities exchange. Consequently, the SEC issued a public warning against investing in or using Binance’s services. 

The commission has been actively exploring the possibility of blocking Binance’s website and online presence in the Philippines since November 2023. However, due to the “sizable operations” of Binance, the SEC has allowed sufficient time for investors to transition their portfolios toward authorized investment products and platforms.

CommEX, the exchange that acquired Binance’s Russia business in September, has announced its decision to shut down. As per the company’s statement on its website, the delisting process will commence on May 10, rendering users unable to access any content associated with the exchange. However, a series of steps will be implemented, leading to the closure.

Effective March 25, 2024, CommEX will stop new user registrations, asset transfers from Binance, and fiat and cryptocurrency deposit services. Then, on March 28, the exchange will stop opening positions for simple futures and futures trading and only allow users to close existing positions.

More changes will follow: Starting April 2, 2024, P2P services will prohibit merchants from creating new advertisements and prevent users from creating new orders; the system will automatically close existing P2P orders and advertising services.

Trading pairs for Simple Futures and Futures Trading will be delisted on April 18, prompting users to close all open positions to avoid automatic settlements. In addition, the spot market will be closed on April 23rd, automatically canceling all spot orders and disabling the Convert feature.

Finally, on May 10, 2024, the official website of CommEX will be delisted, resulting in the unavailability of any content related to the exchange.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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