Philippines Tells Exchanges to Stop Swiping Right on Sketchy Tokens 🚫

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has issued new coin and token listing guidelines requiring all licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers in the country to implement rigorous due diligence and accreditation processes before offering digital assets to customers. In a memorandum signed by Deputy Governor Lyn Javier, the central bank said the rules are aimed at "promoting financial stability and protecting the financial welfare of customers by ensuring that VA services are provided in a safe, sound, and consumer-centric manner."

Alongside the listing framework, the BSP banned anonymity-enhancing cryptocurrencies, commonly referred to as privacy coins such as Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC), from being listed or supported by VASPs operating in the country. The memorandum requires exchanges to conduct ongoing monitoring of listed assets and establish thresholds that could trigger suspensions or delistings.

Industry reaction was mixed. "This is long overdue, and I think this is the right call. I don't think this is bureaucratic red tape; this is the minimum bar any responsible platform should already be applying before listing an asset to retail users," Alden Yburan, head of crypto at GCash, told Decrypt. He added that "stronger listing standards would lead to better products." Yburan was more conflicted on the privacy ban, noting that assets like Monero and Zcash "exist for legitimate reasons" because privacy is "a foundational value in crypto, the ability to transact without surveillance." "On the other hand, PH is remittance-heavy, we can't be positioning the ecosystem as a trusted financial infra while simultaneously allowing anonymity-enhancing assets to flow freely," he added.

Under the new framework, VASPs must monitor listed assets on an ongoing basis and define thresholds that trigger delisting, including loss of liquidity, insolvency of the issuer, involvement in a scandal or scam, de-pegging, material security breaches, or misleading disclosures. The memo also notes that platforms may have to answer to securities regulators in parallel, requiring compliance with "the SEC's CASP Rules and Guidance" should a token be offered as a security.

The Philippines ranks ninth worldwide on Chainalysis's 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, part of an APAC region that grew 69% year-over-year to lead grassroots adoption. The new listing rules slot into a system where crypto firms answer to two separate authorities: the SEC governs crypto-asset service providers on the securities side, while the BSP licenses VASPs for payment and transaction rails, with firms required to satisfy both.