[Update, 11:00 am UTC: Added a follow-up response from a Coins.ph spokesperson.]
Coins.ph said it remains licensed by the country’s central bank following reports that it could face license revocation over alleged transactions involving restricted offshore gambling operators.
Coins.ph is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the Philippines, recording approximately $52 million in 24-hour spot trading volume on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko. The reported license risk follows restrictions imposed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on incoming InstaPay and PESONet transfers involving DCPay Philippines, the entity operating Coins.ph’s peso e-wallet services.
“Coins.ph firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators,” the company said in an official statement shared with Cointelegraph on Wednesday. “Our users’ funds are safe; we continue to operate as a BSP-licensed institution,” it added.
When asked whether transactions involving offshore gambling operators had been processed through its platform, regardless of its awareness, the a Coins.ph spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the exchange does not accept or permit such operators and continuously screens customers and transactions in line with BSP requirements. The company did not directly confirm or deny whether such transactions had occured.
BSP restrictions target Coins.ph payment services
In an earlier advisory, Coins.ph said the BSP had instructed it to strengthen internal controls. The company said cash-in services and QRPh collections were temporarily unavailable, while crypto trading, cash-outs, bill payments and merchant QRPh payments remained accessible. QRPh payments are the central bank’s national QR standard.
Local media outlet BitPinas reported that the restrictions were imposed under BSP Monetary Board Resolution No. 839. DCPay holds an electronic money issuer license, while Betur Inc. operates the exchange’s crypto asset services under a separate virtual asset service provider license. The restrictions reportedly targeted DCPay’s payment operations rather than Betur’s crypto services.
Related: Philippines eyes payment operator registration freeze, tighter VASP checks
In 2025, the central bank ordered supervised financial institutions to remove links providing access to gambling websites from their payment applications. However, the BSP has not publicly linked that directive to the restrictions on Coins.ph.
Cointelegraph also sought confirmation and comment from the BSP. A central bank representative said they would look into the inquiry but had not provided further comment at the time of publication.
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