[Look] Binance CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao is Back in the Philippines
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Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao is in the Philippines.
The last time Zhao was here was in June 2022, when he discussed with the media Binance’s plans to register as virtual asset service provider (VASP) in the Philippines.
“There are at least two licenses that we are interested in. There is VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) license. There is an EMI license, which is more for traditional services,” Zhao stated at that time.
Since then, policy think tank Infrawatch has launched a crusade to get Binance out of the country, citing violation of existing Philippine laws; Infrwatch has since sent letters to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
However, last month, the BSP suddenly stopped all VASP applications for the next three years, citing a need to analyze the current market with 19 licensed VASPs, which include Coins.ph, PDAX, and Bloom.
Still, in a cybercrime education session with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) – Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Binance Philippines’ General Manager Kenneth Stern said they were not affected because they would be acquiring a firm with a crypto exchange license already.
- (June 8) CZ visited the Philippines and talked to PH Media re: Binance expansion.
- (June 8) CZ said they intend to obtain a local crypto license.
- (June 9) Then Finance Secretary Dominguez said Binance is not yet registered and they are monitoring it.
- (June 10) Binance Scholarship for Filipinos.
- (June 15) Infrawatch PH sent a letter to the BSP asking it to ban and suspend the exchange for illegally operating here.
- (June 16) Binance responds: “We are open to discussions”.
- (June 16) Binance is hiring 2,000 more people.
- (July 7) Infrawatch Letter to DTI.
- (July 7) Binance Answers New Infrawatch Letter.
- (July 11) DTI Responds.
- (July 26) Infrawatch sends letter to SEC.
- (August 4) SEC responds, cautioning the public not to invest with Binance.
- (August 9) Binance says acquiring license is a priority
- (September 20) Binance is targeting to acquire a PH Firm to secure VASP License.
- (September 28) Infrawatch PH asks BSP if the backdoor acquisition of the VASP License, which Binance is currently doing, is allowed.
This article is published on BitPinas: [Look] Binance CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao is Back in the Philippines
