The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has warned against using unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a statement, the SEC recommended that the public avoid interacting with these exchanges, which are believed to be operating in the Philippines but are not registered or regulated.
The warning follows the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX, which left hundreds of thousands or even millions of unsecured creditors with little or no recourse.
The SEC reminded investors that Philippine law requires companies to register before doing business in the country.
The agency also pointed out that unlicensed crypto exchanges “offer different products and schemes which are high risk and sometimes fraudulent.”
Several unlicensed exchanges have been illegally soliciting Filipino customers through social media ads and enabling them to access their websites, in violation of Philippine law.
In the Philippines, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are registered with the central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
