Crypto news

The Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) has officially approved a new digital asset listing regulation for licensed virtual asset service providers. This move marks another stage in tightening control over the local crypto market.

A key innovation is the direct ban on listing and supporting assets focused on privacy. So-called privacy coins, which use advanced transaction anonymization technologies such as ring signatures or zero-knowledge proofs, have been targeted. The regulator believes that such instruments create increased risks for money laundering and financing illegal activities.

In addition to the ban, the document introduces a strict due diligence procedure for all assets before they are added to a platform. Providers are required to check coins and tokens across six key areas:

• Issuer data: legal structure, reputation, and jurisdiction.
• Market maturity: trading history, capitalization, and distribution.
• Use cases: practical applicability and utility of the asset.
• Transparency and security: code audit, vulnerabilities, and governance.
• Liquidity and reserves: market depth and backing.
• Legal compliance: adherence to local and international regulations.

Platforms are also required to conduct continuous monitoring of already listed assets and develop clear criteria in advance for suspending trading or delisting. This means that even after listing approval, an asset may be removed if its characteristics or market situation change.

Analyst comment. The Philippines is following the global trend of regulatory tightening, especially in the segment of privacy assets. However, the introduction of such a detailed verification procedure is not just a ban, but an attempt to create a transparent and predictable market for institutional players. In the long term, this could strengthen trust in licensed platforms, but temporarily slow innovation and reduce the diversity of available assets for retail users.