Nikolas Sargeant
TL;DR
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Coins.ph reportedly faces potential penalties over allegations involving services to offshore gambling firms.
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Sources said the alleged infractions could threaten its operating license, but no revocation has been confirmed.
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The BSP reportedly restricted deposits through DCPay Philippines earlier this month.
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Coins.ph denied knowingly serving gambling operators and said customer funds remain safe.
Philippine cryptocurrency exchange Coins.ph is facing possible regulatory penalties over allegations that it served offshore gambling companies, according to people familiar with the situation cited by CoinDesk.
Two sources said the alleged violations could be serious enough to put the company’s operating license at risk.
However, no license revocation has been confirmed, and Coins.ph says it continues to operate as a licensed institution under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The exchange denied knowingly serving offshore gaming or gambling operators and said users’ funds remain safe.
BSP Reportedly Restricts Deposits Through DCPay
The central bank reportedly imposed restrictions earlier this month on deposits made through DCPay Philippines, Coins.ph’s main wallet company.
According to one source, the restrictions did not include a fixed expiration date or a stated reason. That differs from temporary suspensions sometimes imposed for technical or operational compliance failures.
The developments follow the departure of several senior compliance employees, including chief compliance officer Lexi Herrera, AML transaction monitoring head Chris Beaño, and money laundering reporting officer Irish Calagui.
The report did not establish a connection between those departures and the alleged violations. The BSP had not responded to requests for comment by publication time.
In a statement provided to CoinDesk after publication, Coins.ph acknowledged reports concerning offshore gaming transactions and its engagement with the central bank.
The company said it remains BSP-licensed and expects to fully restore affected services soon.
Coins.ph also rejected claims that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling businesses, saying compliance with the BSP, the Anti-Money Laundering Council and other regulators is central to its operations.
The allegations remain attributed to unnamed sources rather than a publicly announced regulatory finding.
Exchange Plays a Major Role in Stablecoin Liquidity
Potential action against Coins.ph could have significant implications for the Philippine digital asset market.
The 12-year-old exchange has more than 18 million customers and approximately $50 million in daily spot trading volume. According to figures cited in the report, it controls roughly 75%–80% of the country’s peso-to-stablecoin liquidity.
That market operates within one of the world’s largest remittance destinations. More than 10.8 million Filipinos live overseas, according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, with annual remittances totaling around $43 billion.
Most of those transfers still pass through banks and money transfer services. Nevertheless, Coins.ph’s share of local stablecoin liquidity makes its regulatory position consequential for crypto-based transactions.
A little over a year ago, the BSP directed institutions under its supervision to remove in-app access to gambling sites from e-wallet services.
Sources alleged that some gambling businesses subsequently moved to Coins.ph. Another person familiar with central bank regulatory processes said access to crypto and stablecoins could help those firms pay offshore partners.
Coins.ph disputes claims that it knowingly provided such services. The company began as an early Philippine crypto wallet and exchange before expanding into broader financial services.
Gojek acquired it for $95 million in January 2019 and later sold it to former Binance chief financial officer Wei Zhou.
