The Central Bank of the Philippines issued a memorandum to halt the application process for new Virtual Asset Service Provider licenses for three years, starting September 1. The announcement came a few days after the Philippines' SEC set its sights on Binance and warned the public not to invest with the firm.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas claims that although virtual assets provide access to financial services at a lower price, they pose more significant risks that can undermine financial stability.
As a result, the Philippines will no longer process new VASP licenses after September 1, subject to re-assessment depending on the market's conditions.
The memorandum signed by Chuchi Fonacier states that the block is only for new firms; applications that have cleared Stage 2 of the process before August 31 will be processed. Moreover, VASPs that were previously approved by BSP will be allowed to operate and submit for renewal if needed.
On the other hand, incomplete applications as of August 31 will be returned and tagged as "closed," and the Bangko Sentral will not process them any further.
Lastly, the order claims that existing "BSP Supervised Financial Institutions" with a "stable" Supervisory Assessment Framework composite rating can still expand operations into VASP services by applying for a VASP license.
