Philippines Central Bank Tightens Regulations On Crypto-Assets

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines’ apex bank, has revised regulations guiding crypto-assets.  The revised laws have been updated to include regulations that guard against the use of crypto-assets to perpetrate money laundering.

Major Changes To Crypto Regulations In The Philippines

This development was revealed on Monday by the BSP, which stated that its Monetary Board had approved new guidelines on crypto assets. The regulations would guide crypto assets providers, including businesses that provide financial services via blockchain or accept crypto-assets.

Major changes to the laws are in transferring and administering crypto assets and digital currencies. There are also changes in the compliance process for firms that intend to perform cryptocurrency services in the country. This shall be subject to the BSP licensing requirements and regulations. Crypto firms will be expected to follow anti-money laundering obligations and also monitor suspicious transactions.

The apex bank stated that the rules were part of promoting financial innovation while adhering to security standards. It further said that the issuance was in line with its commitment to supervise the growing financial tech sector. The new guidelines are also the first major changes to the previous regulations on crypto-assets issued in 2017.

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BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno believes that the changes were required due to the evolving nature of crypto-assets. “We have seen accelerated growth in the use of virtual currency exchanges in the past three years. It is high time that we broaden the scope of existing regulations in recognition of the evolving nature of this financial innovation and set out commensurate risk management expectations,” He said.

Cryptocurrency And Regulations

Several countries have created regulations and laws to guide the use and development of cryptocurrencies in their nations. Crypto-assets are a unique form of financial instruments that serve as money and investment products simultaneously. The decentralized nature of public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum has also confounded regulators. This is because it is impossible to stop developing these crypto-assets since a single entity does not control them.

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CryptoAdventure recently revealed that Russia had banned public officials from holding cryptocurrencies. This, according to the report, was to reduce the use of crypto-assets to perform corrupt financial practices. The surge in crypto regulations continues to grow, with more countries set to propose new laws in the coming months.