Binance eyes Philippines license despite the SEC fiasco

Sahana Kiran
Binance
Source – Unsplash

Prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has been in the headlines lately. However, of late it hasn’t been news pertaining to expansion or bagging a license. From money laundering accusations to an SEC probe, the Changpeng Zhao-led platform seems to have cut its hot streak short. While the community assumed that falling under the radar of the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] would be stressful, Binance was out and about trying to veer into the Philippines.

“Expansion” has been the theme of the world’s largest crypto exchange for the longest time now. Over the last couple of months, Binance has been trying to garner licenses from governments across the globe in order to legally provide services to its users. Now, with the same intention, CZ landed in the Philippines to amass the Virtual Asset Service Provider [VASP] and Electronic Money Issuer [EMI] licenses.

A journalist from the Philippines, Jekki Pascual pointed out that CZ highlighted the importance of a regulated industry. Further noting the correlation between the two, the Binance CEO added,

“Regulation helps adoption, not the other way around.”

Additionally, it should be noted that the crypto exchange was previously warned by the regulators in the Philippines.

Here’s what Binance intends to do in the Philippines

Addressing a crowd in the Southeast Asian country, CZ revealed that the platform was yearning to pour its funds into traditional financial firms like banks and aid them in transitioning into the blockchain world.

In addition to this, Binance also intends to expand its team in the Philippines if they manage to bag the support of regulators as well as banks. He added,

“Philippines is very important. It’s actually super important for us.”

However, several in the community suggested that the SEC investigation against the platform in the US could hinder its growth elsewhere. While the SEC is yet to prove Binance’s alleged ICO violations, the regulator seemed to be establishing pertinent points.