- The Philippines’ central bank plans a 12-month suspension of all operator registrations, which will also affect VASP applications.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines’ central bank, has recently prepared a draft circular proposing a temporary suspension of Operators of Payment Systems (OPS) registration. It also pushes tighter rules for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
The Philippine Central Bank’s Pause on Payment Operator Registrations
The draft circular is still subject to the BSP Monetary Board’s review. However, if approved, one of its key provisions would enable a pause on the acceptance and processing of applications for OPS registration. Full enforcement of the rule would mean a freeze on such activities for a year.
The BSP explained that the suspension aims to open a window for a “holistic review” of the OPS taxonomy and licensing systems. It would include an assessment of attendant risk management and regulatory considerations.
Meanwhile, no person or entity is allowed to engage in activities that require OPS registration during the suspension period. The only exception would be those authorized by the BSP under existing regulations.
The central bank clarified that it will continue to evaluate applications submitted before the temporary ban. However, it will not decide on the filings while the suspension is in place.
What This Means for Crypto
The Philippines was ninth on Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index Top 20, making it one of the hottest destinations for crypto activities, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The list was ranked based on the centralized and decentralized service value received by both retail and institutional crypto activities.
To date, there are nine bank and non-bank VASPs under the BSP’s supervision. One of them is Coins.ph, the country’s largest crypto exchange, registered as Betur Inc. It had over $95 million in spot trading volume over the last 24 hours. At the helm of the company is Wei Zhou as CEO, a former CFO at Binance.
Others include Maya Philippines Inc., Moneybees Forex Corp., Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), TopJuan Technologies Corporation, WIBS PHP, Inc., Direct Agent 5 (operating as SurgePay mobile app), GoTyme Bank Corporation, and Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc.
Should the BSP proceed with the pause in OPS registrations, the status quo would prevail, allowing the aforementioned entities to operate without new competition for a year. This could drive out new entrants, allowing the few existing players to consolidate their market power. The scenario would give current operators a further head start, making it harder for new entrants to establish a foothold in one of the world’s most active digital finance hubs.
