The Philippines is tightening its grip on crypto markets once again.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued new coin and token listing guidelines requiring all licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to implement rigorous due diligence and accreditation processes before offering digital assets to customers.
In a memorandum signed by Deputy Governor Lyn Javier, the BSP 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.”
The central bank also banned anonymity-enhancing cryptos, commonly referred to as privacy coins, from being listed or supported by VASPs.
What Are Privacy Coins? Monero, Zcash, and Dash Explained
The latest memorandum requires exchanges to conduct ongoing monitoring of listed assets and establish thresholds that could trigger suspensions or delistings.
“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. “Stronger listing standards would lead to better products.”
He 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.
VASPs must also monitor listed assets on an ongoing basis and define thresholds that trigger delisting, such as covering loss of liquidity, insolvency of the issuer, involvement in a scandal or scam, de-pegging, material security breaches, or misleading disclosures.
The memo 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 bloc that grew 69% year-over-year to lead grassroots adoption.
Two regulators, two frameworks
The 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; the BSP licenses VASPs for payment and transaction rails. Firms must satisfy both independently.
