Meet The 6 Cryptocurrency Exchanges In Philippines Registered With BSP
by Tom Noda September 21, 2018It’s been a year now since Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued the guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines, and from then on, 6 companies have been registered with the regulator.
While cryptocurrency enthusiasts may rejoice that the regulator is becoming increasingly progressive towards cryptocurrency — BSP has made it very clear that it does not endorse Bitcoin or any other form cryptocurrency as legal tender.
Similar to Malaysia’s recent guidelines, this policy document is made for anti-money laundering and to counter terrorism financing. The policy document seems to gear towards regulating cryptocurrency exchanges to serve a remittance and payments purpose rather than form of investment.
This is unsurprising seeing as how that falls under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) jurisdiction. Not resting on its laurels, SEC has also recently announced that they will be drafting a regulation for ICOs and cryptocurrencies.
For those who are keen to set up their own cryptocurrency exchange you should take note that if you start operating an exchange prior approval, you will be disqualified from registering your company in the future. Violations like failure to submit the required audited reports could also lead to termination of registration.
Coins.ph via Betur Inc
Digital wallet and mobile payments app Coins.ph was the first to be registered as a cryptocurrency exchange in BSP through its remittance arm Betur Inc. The latter offers cash in and cash out services, mobile air-time top ups, remittance services, bill payments and Virtual Currency exchange.
Betur is not a money transmitter but assists its users in digital currency transactions. But like Coins, Betur provides a digital currency wallet service where you can store your digital currency. It enables users make payments to and accept payments from third parties, as well as to buy and sell digital currency.
SCI Ventures via Rebittance Inc.
SCI Ventures, formerly Satoshi Citadel Industries Inc, through its wholly owned subsidiary Rebittance Inc., is the second cryptocurrency exchange to be registered in the Philippines. Rebit is just one of SCI’s several Bitcoin technologies that allows users anywhere in the world to send money to the Philippines with Bitcoin. Rebit also offers international money transfers and bills payments. SCI is focused to streamline financial services by creating Bitcoin solutions that reduce the costs of using and transferring money. SCI’s other technologies include BuyBitcoin.ph, PrepaidBitcoin.ph, payment solution Bitmarket.ph, and mobile wallet Bitbit.cash.
BloomSolutions
BloomSolutions is the third fintech startup registered with the regulator, last May. The Manila-based company provides blockchain solutions to money transfer businesses around the world. Bloom claims its total volume processed since its inception in 2015 has exceeded US$125 million as of March 2018, making it one of the most successful blockchain remittance startups globally.
Bloom co-founder Israel Keys recently asserted that they have been successful at reducing the cost of remittances for thousands of migrant Filipinos worldwide by using cryptocurrencies as a settlement mechanism for Money Transfer Operators (MTOs). Bloom last May likewise announced its initial coin offering (ICO) called BX8, and officially launched its money services app platform BloomX.
ETranss
Officially launched in February 2016, ETranss Remittance International Corp (ETranss) recently registered as a cryptocurrency exchange with the BSP, after having grown its fintech arm ETranss Distributed Exchange (EDE) in the first quarter of 2018. EDE is designed to allow users to securely trade fiat and crypto currency/tokens to facilitate remittance – supporting the ETranss vision of financial inclusivity.
ETranss claims it utilizes cloud-based private network and latest blockchain protocols to provide a centralized order book off-chain and on/off-chain transactions. EDE promises to provide a secure decentralized settlement model driven by a centralized liquidity hub. As stock and for-profit corporation, ETranss reported its remittance volume has reached P10 million and beyond 2,000 in monthly average, dealing with small-scale operators in Hong Kong, China and the Philippines.
Virtual Currency Philippines Inc
Virtual Currency Philippine Inc (VCPI) is a local brand of VHCEx, a newly established cryptocurrency exchange launched in Malaysia last May. VCPI announced on Facebook last July 7 of getting its license from BSP to operate its international asset trading platform. VCPI CEO Jenn Lim recently said the new exchange platform will include digital token like Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, among others. VHCEx has its own cryptocurrency VHC. Lim said they also offer multi-currency support which has digital wallet that supports cryptocurrency for all traders. VCPI’s secured e-money issuing (EMI) allows you to legally store customer funds in Philippine fiat (Pesos).
Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX)
Touted as the first crypto-trading platform built for Filipinos, Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) is the latest blockchain-enabled startup registered with the central bank. PDAX is working on its online, open marketplace for cryptocurrencies meant to facilitate the exchange of Philippine Peso with cryptocurrencies, tokens, and other forms of virtual currency, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and other locally in-demand coins. Blockchain influencers Nichel Gaba, Krystian Kucharzyk, and Yang Yang Zhang co-founded PDAX in 2017 under a legal entity name Fyntegrate Incorporated.
Photo by JC Gellidon on Unsplash
