The cryptocurrency exchanges operating legally in the Philippines have grown numerically to 16, a message by the country’s central bank has announced. Furthermore, one of the registered exchanges has been giving a helping hand to the government and Unionbank to launch an application for purchases of bonds.
The central bank in Manilla has currently approved 16 cryptocurrency exchanges overall. The latest additions to this list are four exchanges. They are Iremit, Finchain Technology, Wibs PHP, and Moneybees Forex.
These four join another 12 previously approved by the bank cryptocurrency exchanges: Coinville Phils, Bexpress, Aba Global Philippines, Betur, Atomtrans Tech, PDAX (or Fyntegrate), Etranss Reittance International, Zybi Tech, VHCEX, Telcoin, Bloomsolutions, and Rebittance. The number of registered crypto exchanges before the update made by the bank was 13. However, the exchange Bitan Moneytech has been deleted from the list at the end of June.
The Philippines` central bank created a regulatory framework regarding cryptocurrency exchanges by its Circular No. 944 in February 2017. These exchanges have to register to the bank as transfer and remittance companies.
The Republic of the Philippines is one of many Asian countries innovating in the sphere of blockchain technology and crypto-assets. In mid-July, the Bureau of the treasury, Unionbank, and the cryptocurrency exchange PDAX launched together a blockchain-based application named Bonds.ph with the aim to distribute government bonds. The goal of the new mobile application is to allow Filipinos, in particular people without bank accounts, to invest in the government’s new treasury bonds and give a chance to the country to acquire more funds to counter the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.
Unionbank (also called the Union Bank of the Philippines), one of the largest financial institutions in the country, introduced a Bitcoin ATM early in 2019. Furthermore, its subsidiary company UTX made significant investments in PDAX cryptocurrency exchange.
