Binance Sets Eyes on PH Finance Sector, Hopes to Secure Necessary Licenses

Prominent crypto exchange Binance announced that it is looking to invest in Philippine local banks and payment service providers. A press briefing was held in Taguig City on Wednesday where Binance CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao noted that the country is “very important” for the company’s platform, particularly in the Southeast Asian region. “The Philippines is more advanced in terms of payment services, mobile penetration, smartphone adoption, tech talents, and understanding of crypto. All those fronts, the Philippines is ahead,” explained Zhao.

“We would love to be able to provide more localized services by going into licensing and working closely with regulators here,” added the Binance executive. The crypto exchange is hoping to secure two licenses from Philippine regulators. “There is VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) license, crypto license. There is an EMI (Electronic Money Issuer) license, which is more for traditional services,” Zhao elaborated.

Binance maintained that it is keen to invest in the country’s traditional finance sectors. “We want to help bring those businesses into the blockchain world,” he added. “If we can help a bank to offer crypto services, you know, in a licensed and regulated way, that makes our market bigger. We are looking at all those options. We are actively looking at all those options.”

Zhao has already engaged with Philippine officials in line with the firm’s efforts to secure the aforementioned licenses. “I do expect the progress to be quick. We don’t control the timeline, it depends on quite a number of external factors. But based on the speed of things progressing, I usually would expect within months,” Zhao concluded.

Source: GMA News