The Philippines SEC seeks to bring cryptocurrencies under its purview
In a new set of proposed regulations, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines wants to expand its jurisdiction over the local cryptocurrency business so that it can regulate cryptocurrencies and put them under its responsibility.
A report published on a local news site on January 25 said that the Securities and Exchange Commission has put out for public comment draft regulations related to financial goods and services. These rules cover cryptocurrencies as well as digital financial products, according to the article.
In a statement, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) argued that the proposed regulations would make a recently passed bill effective and give it “regulatory, monitoring, inspection, market surveillance and greater enforcement powers.”
The recommendations expand the definition of a security to now include “tokenized security products” as well as other financial products that use blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT).
The SEC will also be responsible for regulating other types of financial goods, including digital financial products and services related to those that can be accessed and delivered via digital channels, as well as the providers of such products and services.
In the same way, the power to enforce rules for securities is increased. The SEC has the authority to set limits on the amount of interest, fees and charges that service providers can charge.
In addition to this, the regulator will have the authority to remove from their positions any directors, managers or other employees found to be in breach of the laws. In addition, it has the potential to stop all business in a company.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is authorized by local laws to develop its own guidelines for the application of laws within its jurisdiction. In addition, the Central Bank of the Philippines and the country’s insurance regulator are authorized to develop guidelines for the implementation of related laws.
The recent turn of events means a continuation of the harsh attack that the regulator is exerting on cryptocurrencies.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a public warning against using unregistered exchanges operating in the country before the end of December 2022. The commission said a number of exchanges “illegally allow” Filipinos to use their platforms.
The Philippines’ central bank said in August 2022 that it will stop accepting new applications from virtual asset service providers for the next three years. The bank expects that it will continue to accept applications on 1 September 2025.
