Philippine Central Bank Says Binance and Local Partner Lack Required License

The Philippines’ central bank has said Binance and its local partner, BlockShoals Technologies Inc., do not currently hold the license needed to operate as virtual asset service providers in the country, according to a local media report cited by CoinDesk. The license is issued by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and is required for crypto payment and transaction services.

The development matters because it underscores that Binance’s attempted reentry into the Philippines faces more than one regulatory hurdle. Approval or participation under the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission framework does not replace the need for separate central bank authorization, meaning firms must satisfy both regimes before operating.

Binance has been active in the Philippines before, but the SEC said in 2023 that the exchange was operating without a license. The following year, the regulator ordered internet service providers and app stores to block access to the platform.

Binance said last month that it was working with BlockShoals, a local fintech company that received initial SEC clearance in November under the regulator’s StratBox sandbox. StratBox is a supervised testing environment for fintech and crypto-related financial services.

According to the cited report, the central bank has made clear that sandbox participation is not a substitute for a VASP license. The report also said revised sandbox terms describe Binance as a global crypto-asset service provider rather than a global VASP and require BlockShoals to connect its systems with a licensed domestic VASP within 90 days before user onboarding through Binance infrastructure can begin.