An island country in Southeast Asia decided to slam on the breaks for registering new virtual asset service provider companies.
The Philippines Central Bank, also known as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has announced its plans to halt new virtual asset service provider (VASP) applications.
According to the memorandum shared on August 10th, the Bank is determined to launch this regulation starting September 1st and call it off after 3 years.
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The Bango Sentral notes that it is a necessary step needed to balance out the implementation of new innovations and make sure that any arisen risks are manageable.
The Bangko Sentral recognizes that as VAs offer opportunities to promote greater access to financial services at reduced costs, they also pose varied risks that may undermine financial stability.
It is worth noting that the 3-year hold could be shortened due to market changes and its development.
The memorandum states that applications, which have been completed, or will reach Stage 2 by the end of August, will continue to be processed to give companies a virtual asset provider license. However, applications that didn’t meet the issued requirements until August 31st will be rejected.
The Central Bank highlights that BSP Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFls) can still apply for licenses to offer VASP services at any point. However, these companies will have to provide a “Supervisory Assessment Framework (SAFr) composite rating”, which proves that the firm is stable.
According to sources, currently, at least 19 crypto companies are waiting for approval to function in the Philippines, including Binance.
In June, the crypto exchange CEO Changpeng Zhao announced the company's plans to expand its services to the Philippines. Binance aimed to receive VASP and e-money issuer (EMI) licenses.
