Crypto needs ‘enabling environment,’ Philippines central bank says

cointelegraph.com:

Amid the rising cryptocurrency adoption in the Philippines, the country’s central bank is seeking measures to better protect investors through elevating local crypto awareness.

The Philippine central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), wants to promote crypto education as the authority sees a lot of benefits associated with crypto and blockchain, a BSP representative said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

“The BSP’s focus is on virtual assets’ capacity to improve the delivery of financial services, particularly payments and remittances services, as it has potential to provide faster and economical transfer of funds, both for domestic and international setting,” the BSP stated.

According to the BSP, crypto adoption in the Philippines has increased over the past few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes in the Philippines were hitting new highs on some peer-to-peer crypto exchanges in July 2021.

“During the pandemic, we have seen the willingness of consumers to explore the virtual realm, particularly online platforms that promise to offer income-generating opportunities or play-to-earn applications,” the BSP spokesperson said.

In response to the growing adoption, the Philippine central bank does not plan to adopt any significant limits on crypto investments or trading at this point. Instead, the BSP is looking to implement a regulatory approach aimed at providing an “enabling environment” through “risk-based and proportionate regulations,” the central bank’s representative said, adding:

Despite targeting an “enabling environment” for crypto, the BSP holds a highly negative stance on using crypto as a payment method. “Virtual assets, particularly cryptocurrencies, whose values are