Crypto currency traders be warned, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, said products traded in major platform Binance are not registered and the portal faces being blocked.

SEC warned the public against using Binance as it has initiated legal actions bar the platform to safeguard the public from unregistered investment products.

In an advisory dated 28 November, the SEC noted Binance is not authorized to sell or offer securities in the Philippines, pursuant to Republic Act 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code.

The code provided entities seeking to engage in the business of buying or selling securities, as a broker dealer, or in seeking to create or operate an exchange for securities, must secure a secondary license with the SEC.

Binance defines itself as a facility for trading financial instruments and offers investment products — including spot trading using leverage, futures contracts, option contracts, cryptocurrency savings accounts, cryptocurrency staking services, and a platform for initial coin offerings.

The SEC found Binance has been actively employing promotional campaigns on social media to attract Filipinos to engage in investment and trading activities using its platforms. An app version is also currently downloadable on Google Playstore and the Apple App Store.

"Based on the Commission's database, the operator of the platform Binance is not registered as a corporation in the Philippines and operates without the necessary license and/or authority to sell or offer any form of securities as defined under Section 3.1 of the [SRC] to engage in the business of buying or selling securities or as a broker or dealer as provided under Section 28 of the SRC, or to create or operate an exchange for the buying and selling of securities as provided under Section 32 of the SRC," the advisory read.

Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, representatives, promoters, recruiters, influencers, endorsers, and enablers of Binance in selling or convincing people to invest in its platform within the Philippines, even through online, may be held criminally liable under Section 28 of the SRC and be penalized up to P5 million or suffer imprisonment of up to 21 years, or both.