Philippine Stock Exchange ready to pounce on crypto trading

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) plans on being the de facto crypto trading platform once government financial regulators announce the rules and guidelines for incorporating crypto activities in the country. 

According to a statement from PSE to CNN Philippines, cryptocurrency is an asset class that cannot be ignored anymore especially with its massive interest from the public. 

PSE President Ramon Monzon said that the country’s local bourse should be the platform for exchanging crypto assets since the infrastructure already has investor protection and safeguards in place that he thinks are necessary for crypto trading. 

He added that cryptocurrencies have no fundamentals with only capital gains meaning that the value you get from crypto trading is the price you are willing to pay as said by Monzon. 

‘If there’s going to be any structured trading of crypto in the Philippines, it should be under our [PSE] watch,’ Monzon said. 

However, no plans are made yet for creating a crypto exchange on the PSE platform. Monzon said that PSE is in no position to create a platform since they are still awaiting the rules from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulatory board for the securities industry. 

The Philippines is among the Southeast Asian countries that are open to the crypto industry. Although, the Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) has previously stated about not issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) anytime soon. 

‘Most central banks say they will not issue a CBDC in the next five years, so not within my term,’ said BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno in an interview with CNN Philippines last October 2020. 

Even with the hesitation to create a CBDC in the country, BSP has released operating licenses for crypto exchanges like Coins.ph, Bitan Moneytech and Bexpress. 

Additionally, the institution also revisited its cryptocurrency regulations in January 2020 to cater to the growing interest and demand for the industry. These regulations will lessen the potential risk for investors who are interested in cryptocurrency.

The regulations cover security measures to guard against money laundering and other criminal activities using digital assets. Diokno said in a statement to the Inquirer that the bank rules and regulations will be in line with promoting financial innovation as well as recognition of the industry’s evolving nature. 

Moreover, the SEC previously mentioned in 2019 that it was planning to issue a draft guideline for initial coin offering in the country. SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino also said in January 2020 that the commission is about to finalise the framework and should be in place soon. 

Up until today, the promised guidelines by the SEC have not yet been published. Get to know more cryptocurrency updates in Asia here at BTC Post!