Crypto in Philippines

The Philippines maintains a dual-regulatory framework for digital assets. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governs virtual currency exchanges under Circular No. 944 (2017), requiring licensing for VCE operators. As of Q3 2025, the BSP has licensed 18 exchanges, including major players like Coins.ph and PDAX. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Philippines) regulates digital asset offerings under the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), classifying tokens as securities if they meet the Howey test. In 2024, the SEC issued cease-and-desist orders against 12 unregistered platforms, including Binance (March 2024), for operating without a license. The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2001, as amended by Republic Act No. 11521 (2021), mandates VCEs to register with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and report transactions exceeding PHP 500,000. Crypto is legal for trading, payments, and remittances, but the BSP prohibits banks from holding crypto on their balance sheets (BSP Memo 2023-022).

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) treats crypto as property under Revenue Regulation No. 16-2022 (effective January 2023). Capital gains from crypto trading are taxed at 15% for individuals and 25% for corporations, with a PHP 250,000 annual exemption for individual traders. Income from crypto mining or staking is classified as ordinary income, taxed at progressive rates up to 35%. VAT applies to crypto-to-fiat conversions at 12%, but peer-to-peer transactions are exempt if under PHP 3 million annually. Reporting requires taxpayers to file BIR Form 1701 (individuals) or 1702 (corporations) with Schedule S detailing crypto gains. The BIR launched a crypto tax compliance campaign in June 2024, targeting 50,000 traders with automated data matching from licensed exchanges. Non-compliance penalties include 50% surcharges and 20% interest per annum.

The Philippines has 4.2 million crypto users as of Q2 2025, up 18% year-over-year, driven by remittance corridors and retail trading. Remittances account for 35% of crypto volume, with the Philippines receiving $38 billion in remittances annually (2024 World Bank data), of which 8% flows through crypto rails like Coins.ph and Maya. Institutional adoption is nascent but growing: UnionBank launched a crypto custody service in March 2025, and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is exploring tokenized securities under SEC sandbox rules. Retail adoption is concentrated in Metro Manila (45% of users) and Central Visayas (20%), with P2P trading volumes on platforms like Paxful and LocalBitcoins averaging PHP 1.2 billion monthly (2024 data). The Digital Peso (CBDC) pilot, launched by BSP in December 2024, processed PHP 500 million in wholesale transactions among 12 banks, but retail adoption remains limited.