Philippines rejects the idea of strict regulation of cryptocurrency. You can freely buy and sell digital assets in the country.
Central Bank of the Philippines – Virtual Currency Philippines, ETranss.
Sites will be officially allowed to trading cryptocurrency and exchange them for fiat money.
It is worth noting that the Philippine leadership is very loyal to cryptoactive assets. Rebbitance, Betur, BloomSolutions. Electronic money is licensed.
Such an approach to cryptoactive assets makes the country attractive for investments. The number of transactions with virtual currency trading in the first quarter amounted to about $ 36 million.
This may take the form of decentralized analog financial services, for example, receiving loans or micropayments. These may be innovative applications. The ability to convert one cryptocurrency in the future will be the result of creating such a decentralized economy, says a press release.
Currently, trade volumes have increased significantly, and the volume of cryptocurrency exchange has increased.
The company recently announced the launch of debit cards.
In the Philippines, the Bitcoin exchange Buy Bitcoin is officially launched, but unlike other sites that appear all over the world, this is not one of those that are controlled by a pair of anonymous coders with an office in the garage.
The Buy Bitcoin.ph exchange, whose founders are four Bitcoin enthusiasts from all over the world, does not want to be «just another exchange». It seems that the company has pinned its hopes on remittances, and this is certainly not without a meaning. Globally, there are 2.2 million Filipino expats. Last year, they transferred over $ 13.9 billion to their home country. Obviously, this is a huge undeveloped market.
Any Filipino who wants to buy bitcoins can simply go into one of the 800 offices of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and make a deposit. BuyBitcoin.ph is working on adding a few more top up options, but for the time being it is possible to purchase it only for cash.
However, with an emphasis on remittances, most people are likely to use the platform to convert Bitcoin into fiat money.
The co-founder of BuyBitcoin.ph, Lasse Olesen, draws attention to the fact that the Philippine economy is one of the fastest growing in Asia, and that the country represents the third largest remittance market in the world. Olezen says:
«A lot of online transactions here are made by depositing cash in real offices, and since it can be said that Bitcoin is «cash for the Internet», it’s great. It also provides incredibly ample opportunities for freelancers and small shop owners». «Bitcoin provides instant access to the global market for goods and services, where you can receive payments for free and, if you wish, cash them locally. If you are a small entrepreneur, you are unlikely to accept international payments by PayPal or bank transfers, given the size of their fees».
Thanks to the decentralized Bitcoin network, transactions can take place much cheaper and faster than with traditional bank transfers. And for all this to become a reality, you need a decent local marketplace. For this, BuyBitcoin.ph was created. While NYDFS scares the bittrex cryptobirth, it’s not a problem.
According to Melchor Plebesan, Acting Head of Technology Risk and Innovation, only recently three companies – Bexpress Inc., Coinville Phils – have received permits to trade in cryptocurrencies. Inc. and ABA Global Phils. Thus, the total number of sites approved by the central bank has reached 10.
The regulator explains his point of view:
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies trading are an excellent tool for organizing money transfers, although the payment functions remain in the local currency, the Philippine peso.
The benevolent attitude to cryptocurrencies trading was manifested in the fact that the first cryptographic machine that appeared in the Philippines was installed at the office of Unionbank, in one of the country’s largest banks, and this was done on the direct instructions of the central bank of that state.
Since July 2018, the state has the Cagayan Economic Zone (CEZA), which is a government organization located in the north of the cryptocurrency trading Philippines. She, like the central bank, also issues permits for cryptocurrency trading platforms – there are already 24 such companies, which is 5 more than, for example, BitLicense, released in New York.
In the near future in the Philippines, two virtual currency exchanges may be licensed to trade Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. This was stated by the head of the Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) Nestor Yespenilla Jr. during the FinTech Thought Leadership Roundtable Series conference. The head of the Central Bank stressed that these two exchanges will be based in the Philippines, but will also be present in other states. Experts believe that the Central Bank of the Philippines has taken this step because of the increasing interest in the cryptocurrency market from Filipinos, which increases the need for government regulation. The Asia-Pacific region is the leader in the number of digital currency users in the world, and monthly bitcoin trading platforms volumes in the Philippines almost tripled over the past year – from $ 2 million to $ 6 million. Experts also believe that regulation of the crypto currency market in the Philippines will not only to reduce risks for investors and holders of bitcoins, but also to modernize the financial system of the country through the introduction of new technologies.
Philippine blockchain-company Coins.ph, which received funding from Pantera Capital, has begun to cooperate with the global payment industry giant Western Union.
The Philippines plans to replenish the state budget by $ 67 million by selling licenses to cryptocurrency companies.
According to a report by the country’s government news agency, the administration of the Cagayan Economic Zone (CEZA) announced that it was going to raise huge funds from the sale of licenses to cryptocurrency companies.
Raimund Roquero, spokesman for CEZA, said that the regulator privacy policy will charge a cryptocurrency trading Philippines company $ 360,000 for a license to trade in cryptocurrencies in the country. Rokero noted that in this way the authorities expect to make a profit of 3.6 billion pesos ($ 67 million).
The Philippines intends to become the central center of cryptocurrency in Asia, displacing the current leader in this region – Singapore. The government of the Philippines has announced that it intends to license 10 cryptocurrency trading platforms and blockchain companies, which will allow them to operate in the Special Economic Zone (FEZ) Cagayan. As it became known, these organizations were initially based in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea.
Manila’s approach to this topic is similar to what the leadership of the Republic of Belarus is doing, which provides significant tax breaks for cryptocurrency companies that will operate in a special economic zone.
The head of the FEZ Cagayan said that residents of the territory will be allowed to conduct ICO, the extraction of cryptocurrencies, as well as the exchange of cryptocurrencies, which means that Manila gives the green light to almost any activity related to cryptocurrencies, putting forward the following conditions: register in the FEZ, invest for two years at least one million dollars of investment, as well as pay a license fee of $ 100 thousand.
It is worth noting that there are practically no states left in the world that would really ban all aspects of cryptocurrency activities. And in some cases, as in the case of China and Iran, it is about the fact that Beijing and Delhi are struggling to regulate the market in order to enter it with their state cryptocurrencies. The fact that Beijing intends to take such a step has already become clear for a number of reasons, but Iran, represented by the country’s information and telecommunication technology minister, said on May 3 that the country was already launching a trial launch of its own cryptocurrency, which so far would be focused only on use inside the country.
The Cagayan Economic Zone of the Philippines will be in charge of licensing cryptocurrency exchanges. The approximate amount that the authorities intend to earn on licenses is estimated at 67 million dollars.
The government of the economic zone noted that in addition to a one-time registration fee, the exchange will pay 0.1% of each transaction carried out using cryptocurrency through their platforms.
Licenses will be issued in two types: basic and regular. The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority issued a basic license for the activities of the Hong Kong Cryptocurrency Exchange.
In total, the Office plans to allocate 25 basic licenses, and each company that has received a basic license has the right to issue 4 regular licenses.
The base license will cost $ 360,000, the usual $ 85,000.
Currently, the Economic Zone Administration has reported 70 applications from cryptocurrency platforms, of which 6 have already paid a license fee.
Another requirement for exchangers wishing to obtain a license is an investment in the development of the economic zone itself: each company must allocate at least $ 1 million for this within two years.
When the cryptocurrency was just beginning its triumphal march, many skeptics predicted that the grave diggers of bitcoins would be states that do not want to lose their monopoly on the issue of means of payment. However, small countries (Switzerland, Singapore) immediately reacted positively to digital coins, hoping to attract start-ups (and they succeeded), and now more and more large states surrender one by one and rush to adopt the right laws. counting on your share of the crypto pie. Not so long ago, Colombia announced plans to become a regional cryptocentre, Mexico accepted its cryptocurrency, France legalized the ICO, and now the 100 million Philippines are ready to let in the cryptocurrency.
According to the head of the local SEC, Efiro Armathong, laws can be passed next week to allow cryptocurrency to be traded, and clear rules for the ICO will appear, allowing small and medium-sized companies to raise funds for development. Armatong himself considers himself a supporter of digital assets and argues that the Central Bank holds similar views in an effort to make the Philippines one of the world’s crypto centers.
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