Coins.ph, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the Philippines, is facing punitive action from the country's central bank over alleged regulatory infractions, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
The exchange, which has over 18 million customers and a 24-hour spot trading volume of approximately $50 million, is said to have processed transactions involving restricted offshore gaming and gambling companies. The infractions are reportedly serious enough to result in the revocation of the company's operating license.
Early this month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) imposed restrictions on deposits made through Coins.ph's main wallet firm, DCPay Philippines. The restriction was not time-bound, unlike typical temporary suspensions the central bank imposes for compliance failures.
Coins.ph controls an estimated 75%-80% of peso-to-stablecoin liquidity in the Philippines, a significant position given that the country is the world's fourth-largest remittance recipient. More than 10.8 million Filipinos live outside the country and collectively repatriate approximately $43 billion annually, though most use traditional banks and money transfer services.
The regulatory action follows the departure of several compliance staff members this year, including chief compliance officer Lexi Herrera, anti-money-laundering transaction monitoring head Chris Beaño, and money laundering reporting officer Irish Calagui.
The BSP clamped down on e-wallet gambling access more than a year ago, requiring supervised institutions to cut in-app access to gambling sites. Several gambling entities subsequently migrated to Coins.ph, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Coins.ph, one of the Philippines' earliest crypto wallets and exchanges, was acquired by Indonesian technology company Gojek for $95 million in January 2019. The platform was later sold to Wei Zhou, previously Binance's chief financial officer.
Neither Coins.ph nor the BSP responded to requests for comment.
