Philippine Assets and Digital Exchange is optimistic that the multi-billion-peso local virtual currency market will further gain momentum due to the government's proactive stance to support financial technology innovations and crack down on fraudulent platform operators.

"The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP has remained very supportive of all kinds of financial innovation and this year, they improved their supervisory capabilities.

They are watching the players more and they are taking their jobs seriously. The requirements are much more complex than they were," PDAX CEO and Founder Nichel Gaba said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.
Founded in 2018, PDAX is a cryptocurrency exchange operator licensed by the BSP available both as a web-based and mobile app.

The BSP requires virtual currency providers like PDAX to register with the central bank as they are being used for remittances and by transfer companies.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets or virtual currencies that are not yet regulated worldwide but have gained significant demand among investors. They are currently being used for remittances, payments, investments, capital raising, and exchange.

"In 2021 we saw around 10 to 11x volume than pre-pandemic volume but we also went to a prolonged crypto bear market so the transactions today are just a fraction of the transactions in 2021. All the regulated virtual currency platforms process around $2-3 billion transactions," Gaba said.

"I think next year it is likely gonna double and that figure does not even include activities in unregulated exchanges," he added.

The Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC affirmed in late November that Binance, an online cryptocurrency exchange, is not authorized to sell or offer securities to the public in the Philippines, under Republic Act No. 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code or SRC.

Thus, the Commission asked the National Telecommunication Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to block access to Binance in the Philippines.

The removal of access in the Philippines is expected to take effect within three months after the issuance of the advisory, to give Filipino investors who have holdings in Binance to close their positions and take out their investments.

"Now that Binance is being banned, there are a lot of users wondering where they can go and the best option for them is to go to a licensed exchange like PDAX. Our strategy as a company is to focus on being the best alternative," Gaba said.

"The license from BSP is not just a piece of paper hanging by our wall, it means we are doing everything according to fair rules and regulations. Our law enforcement agencies are always here to help but the best thing to protect you from scammers is to not put our money on something we don't trust," he added.