Crypto news

The Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) has officially approved updated rules for the listing of digital assets for all licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). This move marks another phase in tightening regulation of the cryptocurrency market in the region.

A key innovation is a direct ban on adding and supporting privacy-oriented assets. This refers to coins that, by their design, conceal transaction history and wallet balances — such as Monero, Zcash, or Dash. The regulator views them as a tool that increases the risks of money laundering and financing illegal activities.

In addition, the regulator has introduced a mandatory six-factor assessment for all coins and tokens before listing. Providers are required to evaluate:

• Issuer data — transparency of the team and project jurisdiction;
• Market maturity — trading history and asset capitalization;
• Use cases — real applicability of the token;
• Transparency and security — codebase, audits, vulnerabilities;
• Liquidity and reserves — ability to ensure stable trading;
• Legal compliance — adherence to local and international regulations.

Platforms are also required to organize continuous monitoring of already listed assets and predefine clear criteria for suspending trading or complete delisting. This means that even after being added to the list, an asset may be removed if its risk profile changes.

From my perspective, this decision is a logical continuation of a global trend: regulators worldwide are increasingly cutting off anonymous coins, viewing them as a threat to the financial system. For the Philippines, where the cryptocurrency industry is actively developing, such a step reduces reputational risks for local exchanges but simultaneously limits choices for users who value privacy. In the long term, this could stimulate the development of regulated stablecoins and tokens with full transaction transparency, which is likely the central bank's ultimate goal.