American financial services company The Western Union Company has partnered with Philippines-based e-wallet provider Coins.ph to enable Filipinos to conduct cross-border money transfers. The development was announced in a press release published on April 3. Within the collaboration, Western Union will purportedly integrate the Coins.ph blockchain-based platform into its cross-border platform, enabling users in the Philippines to receive and hold international money transfers directly into their Coins.ph wallets. Prior to using the new services, customers reportedly have to register for Coins.ph wallet, provide a valid ID, and pass electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. The release further notes that Coins.ph …

Major Philippines bank Union Bank is launching the country’s first two-way cryptocurrency ATM, local media outlet Philstar reported Feb. 6. The move will reportedly let customers buy and sell cryptocurrencies for cash via the ATM as part of the bank’s “sandbox” — a framework for conducting experiments in a controlled environment. The report did not specify which digital currencies will be supported in the experiment. According to Philstar, the system complies with current regulations and is the result of a collaboration between Union Bank and the country’s central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The article cites a statement released …

The Philippines has introduced a new set of rules governing Digital Asset Token Offering (DATO), according to a press release published by the Asia Blockchain and Crypto Association (ABACA) on Feb. 4. The new regulations released by the country’s Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) are reportedly designed to regulate the cryptocurrency industry and protect investors, affecting such issues as the acquisition of crypto assets, including utility and security tokens. The CEZA thus becomes the main regulator, while the ABACA has been designated as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) to enforce the new framework. Per the release, all DATOs must have proper …

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (PSEC) is not ready to issue final initial coin offering (ICO) regulation. The legislation was meant to be released before the end of 2018, English-language local media The Philippine Star reports on Dec. 31. The aforementioned article attributes the delay of the release to a request by different stakeholders for further time to look at the draft ICO rules. The PSEC has reportedly revised anew the proposed regulation by taking into account different shareholders’ input. In the draft guidelines, the regulatory body established that the tokens emitted during an ICO may be classified as …

Experts with ties to the World Bank Group presented options for using blockchain in e-government procurement (e-GP) in a report released Wednesday, Oct. 17. The World Bank Group includes organizations commonly known together as the World Bank. e-GP, which refers to business-to-government purchase and sale of anything from goods and services to data exchange, has spawned complex structures in many countries, which blockchain technology could help simplify and otherwise “enhance,” the report’s authors say. “Though the implementation of e-GP systems has contributed to enhanced efficiency and transparency in Government Procurement, there is potential for further advancement of the existing systems,” …

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is due to unveil the hotly anticipated draft regulation for cryptocurrencies in the next few days, if the information provided by The Manilla Times is correct. If the regulation reflects the previous enthusiastic efforts to implement cryptocurrency in the Philippines, it stands to play a seminal role in defining the country’s status as a major player in the fintech sector. The SEC chairman, Ephyro Luis Amatong, has previously emphasised the need to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges as traditional trading platforms. The draft comes in the wake of several Philippine lawmakers calling for the creation …

Regulators in the Philippines plan to reveal draft cryptocurrency regulation by the middle of this month, local media outlet The Manila Times reported Monday, September 3. Citing Ephyro Luis Amatong, chairman of the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) speaking to reporters, The Manila Times confirmed cryptocurrency exchanges could soon be considered as traditional “trading platforms.” “We see the need to regulate them as trading platforms,” Amatong explained. The news comes following a similar commitment from Filipino lawmakers to formalize the regulatory environment for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and their issuers. As Cointelegraph reported last month, the Philippine SEC had …

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a set of draft rules for regulating Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) for public review, according to an official statement August 2. In the SEC’s Memorandum Circular, the agency stipulates that any company registered in the Philippines looking to run an ICO, or any ICO selling tokens to Filipinos, must submit an “initial assessment request” to the Commission to determine whether or not their token is a security. The regulator specifies that ICO issuers should submit their initial assessment request not less than 90 days prior to the “start of the pre-sale …

Security engineers of the Philippine community of major multiplayer video game League of Legends (LoL) have removed Coinhive crypto mining code from its Garena client June 11, according to an official statement from the group’s Facebook. On July 9, Monero (XMR) mining malware Coinhive was first detected on the LoL client by a player who posted about the issue on the League of Legends subreddit. According to the group’s Facebook statement, the recent case of Coinhive cryptojacking was caused by “unauthorized modification of the League of Legends PH client lobby where a certain javascript code was inserted.” Garena noted that …

The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) of the Philippines has issued provisional licenses to three cryptocurrency exchanges in the economic zone, the Manila Times reported July 10. CEZA expects to attract $3 million of investment following the issuance. CEZA is a state-owned corporation that controls the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport operations. In April, the Philippine government announced it will allow 10 blockchain and cryptocurrency companies to operate in the economic zone to create jobs and stimulate the economy. CEZA also requires the companies to contribute not less than $1 million over two years and pay up to $100,000 …

The Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has approved applications filed by two new cryptocurrency exchanges, news outlet Business World reported July 6. The Deputy Governor of the BSP Chuchi G. Fonacier reportedly said that Virtual Currency Philippines, Inc. and ETranss have been accredited as platforms, which allows them to convert Philippine pesos into virtual currencies. With this move, the two exchanges joined already operating exchanges Rebittance, Inc., Betur, Inc. and BloomSolutions. The central bank has recognized digital currencies for their potential to provide faster and cheaper transactions, but remains cautious of the potential risks of crypto volatility, …

A new blockchain-based ecosystem is vowing to help 490 million unbanked and underbanked people across Southeast Asia access modern financial services. According to TraXion, only 54 percent of adults in developing countries have access to a bank account. This is even more keenly felt in the Philippines, where 80 percent of families are unbanked or underbanked. Across the country, credit cards have a penetration rate of just 3 percent. The platform is hoping to create “fair and easy access” to a suite of services including low-cost remittances, savings accounts, cashless payments, peer-to-peer lending and insurance. It believes that opening the …