3 Truths and Myths About Cryptocurrency in PH, According to BSP Governor Espenilla
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s policy stance towards cryptocurrencies in the Philippines has evolved alongside the spread and widening use of virtual money for transfers, payments and investment. Referring to digital, decentralized and unregulated currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, cryptocurrencies are touted to disrupt traditional fiat or legal money as medium of exchange, unit of account and store of value. As early as 2014, the BSP had already recognized cryptocurrencies’ presence in the Philippines, but it did so by warning the public against it. Among the five reasons it listed in a warning advisory dated March 6, 2014 were cryptocurrencies’ tendency to be used for “money laundering and other illicit activities” and how they were “a form of unregulated digital money.” But in 2017, the BSP took on a more constructive approach, releasing a set of regulations for companies to officially register as virtual currency exchanges. As well, it recognized Coins.ph, a fintech