NTC orders internet providers to block access to Binance

Internet users in the Philippines will no longer be able to access the website of cryptocurrency firm Binance after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued an order blocking the company's platform in the country.

In a statement on Tuesday, the NTC said it issued a memorandum on March 25 directing all internet service providers to immediately block access to the website of Binance.

The telecommunications regulator issued the order upon receiving the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) letter-request seeking the NTC's assistance in having Binance's website blocked.

The SEC said that Binance offered an investment and trading platform without the necessary license from the Commission.

"The SEC has identified the aforementioned platform and concluded that the public's continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos," SEC Chairperson Emilio Aquino said in the letter-request addressed to the NTC.

In November last year, the corporate regulator bared its plan to block access to Binance since it was not authorized to sell or offer securities.

GMA News Online reached out to Binance for comment, but no response yet has been received as of posting time.

With the issuance of the memorandum, the NTC said internet service providers were given a period of not later than five days from receipt to submit a report on the action taken regarding its directive.

In its formal request, the SEC said it was seeking to block Binance "in order to prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the Country, and to protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy."

The SEC has said that Binance has been actively employing promotional campaigns on social media to attract Filipinos to engage in investment and trading activities through its platform.

However, the platform has not secured a license to solicit investments from the public, nor to create or operate an exchange for the buying and selling of securities, as required by Republic Act (RA) 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code (SRC).

"Considering the size and volume of Binance's operations, however, the SEC ensured that the investing public would have enough time to exit the platform and reposition their portfolio in favor of authorized investment products and platforms," the SEC said.

An app version is also downloadable on Google Playstore and the Apple App Store.

The development came after SEC announced that its Commission en Banc approved on March 12 the filing of a formal request with the NTC for assistance in blocking the website and other Binance webpages.

Binance defines itself as a facility for trading financial instruments and offers investment products—including spot trading using leverage, futures contracts, option contracts, cryptocurrency savings accounts, cryptocurrency staking services, and a platform for initial coin offerings, the SEC said.

The company currently has an average daily trading volume of $65 billion covering more than 402 cryptocurrencies, with a membership of over 183 million, according to the platform's website.

The SEC said it has been actively working with the NTC to block websites illegally offering investments in the country.

"In February, the NTC ordered all internet service providers to block the websites and apps of OctaFX and MiTrade for the protection of the investing public, upon the Commission’s request," it said. —Ted Cordero/ VAL/ VDV, GMA Integrated News