Philippines SEC cracks down on unregistered crypto exchanges

The Philippines SEC flagged OKX, Bybit, KuCoin and others for offering crypto services without authorization, warning of enforcement and app store bans.

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an advisory naming 10 major crypto exchanges, including OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, Kraken and others, for operating without the required authorization under the country’s new crypto regulations.

The alert, published on Monday, warned that the platforms continued to offer or promote crypto services to Philippine users despite lacking registration under SEC Memorandum Circulars No. 4 and No. 5, which took effect on Tuesday.

“These platforms have no license, registration, or authorization from the SEC to operate in the Philippines or to solicit investments from the public,” the alert said. “Their actions are unauthorized and expose Filipino investors to significant risk,” it added.

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