Philippines: crypto and stablecoin regulation (as of 2 November 2026)

As of 2026-11-02

In the Philippines, the central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), supervises virtual asset service providers (VASPs). BSP Circular No. 1108 of 2021 set guidelines for VASPs, and BSP Circular No. 1206, approved by the Monetary Board on 28 November 2024, consolidated the rules for money service businesses (MSBs) and moved the VASP rules into Section 161-M of the MORNBFI-M. Under these rules, "A VASP shall secure a COA to operate as an MSB" (a Certificate of Authority). The Monetary Board approved the continued enforcement of the moratorium on new VASP licences, which continues from 1 September 2025, "subject to reassessment based on global and local developments". BSP Memorandum No. M-2026-023 sets coin/token listing guidelines for VASPs: for pegged coins and tokens it expects reliable and verifiable reserves, and it lists de-pegging and inadequacy of reserves among the reasons to suspend or delist a token. No BSP rule specific to stablecoin issuance was found. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) text was not read for this page.

This page states what the government sources say. It is not legal advice.

Status as of 2 November 2026

Status	Rule	Since / from	Source
Adopted	BSP Circular No. 1108, Series of 2021: Guidelines for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP), which amended Section 902-N of the MORNBFI. The circular takes effect fifteen calendar days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation; the publication date was not read.	—	BSP
Adopted	BSP Circular No. 1206, Series of 2024: consolidated rules for money service businesses under the MORNBFI-M, with the VASP rules now in Section 161-M. "The Monetary Board, in its Resolution No.1362 dated 28 November 2024, approved the attached consolidated rules for MSBs".	28 November 2024 (Monetary Board approval)	BSP
Decision	BSP Memorandum No. M-2025-031: "The Monetary Board, in its Resolution No. 848 dated 20 August 2025, approved the continued enforcement of the moratorium on the issuance of new licenses for VASP." The moratorium continues from 1 September 2025, "subject to reassessment based on global and local developments".	1 September 2025	BSP
Published	BSP Memorandum No. M-2026-023: Coin/Token Listing Guidelines, sent to all VASPs. BSP "seeks to clarify regulatory expectations for VASPs in conducting due diligence reviews of coins and/or tokens offered to their customers". The guidance is organised into six due-diligence pillars, one of which covers redemption, liquidity and reserves. The memorandum number is taken from the PDF address; the PDF carries no issue date.	—	BSP

Key rules

Definition (BSP Circular 1206). BSP defines a virtual asset (VA) as "any type of digital unit that can be digitally traded, or transferred, and can be used for payment or investment purposes." (BSP)
Licensing (BSP Circular 1206). "A VASP shall secure a COA to operate as an MSB". A VASP must hold a Certificate of Authority (COA) to operate as a money service business. (BSP)
Transition (BSP Circular 1108). BSP-registered virtual currency exchanges, and VASPs operating without BSP approval, had to apply for a Certificate of Authority not later than three months from the effectivity of the circular. The effectivity date was not read. (BSP)
Moratorium on new licences (BSP Memorandum M-2025-031). The moratorium on the issuance of new VASP licences continues from 1 September 2025, "subject to reassessment based on global and local developments". (BSP)
Scope split with the SEC (BSP Circular 1206). The BSP VASP guidelines do not cover businesses involved in the participation and provision of financial services related to an issuer's offer and/or sale of a virtual asset; the text says these fall within the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission. (BSP)
Counterparties (BSP Circular 1206). A VASP may only engage with other VASPs, financial institutions and/or remittance and transfer companies that are duly authorized and licensed by the appropriate regulatory authorities. (BSP)
Listing due diligence (BSP Circular 1206). VASPs must establish a robust due diligence and accreditation process for selecting the virtual assets that will be listed or traded on their platform. (BSP)
Risk disclosure (BSP Circular 1206). VASPs must disclose all material risks to their clients before entering into an initial transaction and on an ongoing basis, in a manner that is clear, fair and not misleading. (BSP)
Reserves for pegged tokens (BSP Memorandum M-2026-023). "For coins/tokens pegged to other assets or instruments, there should be reliable and verifiable reserves to ensure these remain backed by the corresponding assets and promote customer confidence." (BSP)
Suspension or delisting (BSP Memorandum M-2026-023). Among the circumstances in which VASPs shall suspend or delist a token, the guidance lists violation of legal or regulatory requirements, "such as but not limited to de-pegging, inadequacy of reserves, failure to comply with disclosure requirements, or subject to adverse regulatory actions". (BSP)
Privacy coins (BSP Memorandum M-2026-023). "The offering of anonymity-enhancing VAs, otherwise known as privacy VAs, is prohibited from being listed/supported by VASPs." (BSP)
Securities overlap (BSP Memorandum M-2026-023). BSP says VASPs may be required to comply with securities regulations and "the SEC’s CASP Rules and Guidance" should a coin/token be deemed or offered as a security product. (BSP)
BSP list of VASPs. The BSP List of Virtual Asset Service Providers is dated "As of 15 July 2026" (source: TRISD Database). It has 9 numbered entries in three groups: Active - Non-bank VASPs, Inactive/Not operational - Non-bank VASPs, and Active - Bank VASP. The PDF text does not tie each row to its group, so per-group counts are not given here. The date is the date of the list, not a licensing event. (BSP)

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
28 November 2024	Monetary Board Resolution No. 1362 approves the consolidated MSB rules (Circular 1206), which move the VASP rules into the MORNBFI-M	BSP
20 August 2025	Monetary Board Resolution No. 848 approves the continued enforcement of the moratorium on new VASP licences	BSP
1 September 2025	The moratorium on new VASP licences continues, subject to reassessment	BSP

Not covered here

The text of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines Memorandum Circulars on crypto-asset service providers (CASP Rules and Guidelines, 2025) was not read, because sec.gov.ph could not be accessed for this page; their content, dates and any stablecoin provisions are not stated here. No BSP rule or circular specific to stablecoin issuance, reserves or redemption was found; reserve language appears only in the listing due-diligence guidance (M-2026-023). Whether and when the BSP moratorium on new VASP licences ends is not stated in the sources this page uses. The BSP circular PDFs are scanned documents, and their date lines were not readable, so the effectivity date of Circular 1108 and the issue date of M-2026-023 are not given.

Sources

Updated: 2026-11-02 · Markdown version