Coins.ph License Reportedly at Risk Over Gambling Ties, but Platform Denies Claims It Knowingly Serves Offshore Gaming Firms

Updated at 1:19 PM: Shortly before this article is published, Coins.ph sent a message to BitPinas, and said they will be providing answers to our set of questions separately:

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM COINS.PH

Coins.ph is aware of recent news reports about our operations, including claims about offshore gaming transactions and our engagement with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). We wish to assure our users, partners, and the wider community that we take these matters seriously and remain committed to transparency, regulatory compliance, and the protection of our users.

Coins.ph firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators. We hold ourselves to the requirements and standards of the BSP, AMLC and other regulatory authorities, and full compliance sits at the core of how we operate. As a duly regulated and licensed platform, we are committed to building a safe, trusted, and world-class digital asset ecosystem in the Philippines.

We continue to invest in strengthening our compliance and control functions and work closely with our regulators to enhance our operations. These efforts help us better serve our millions of users, while ensuring we remain well-positioned to serve them as the industry evolves.

Our users’ funds are safe; we continue to operate as a BSP licensed institution. We expect to fully restore affected services soon and will share updates through our official channels.

We value the media’s role in keeping the public informed and welcome the opportunity to share our perspective. We remain open to engaging with journalists and providing accurate information about Coins.ph.

Thank you for the continued trust and patience of our community.

Original Article Follows:

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) recent directive to freeze inbound bank and e-wallet transfers to Coins.ph is reportedly tied to business transactions involving restricted offshore gaming and gambling operators, according to a report by CoinDesk.

The regulatory infractions are serious enough that the central bank is considering severe punitive actions, including the potential revocation of the company’s license to operate. Industry observers warned that stripping the 12-year-old exchange of its operational license would trigger an “earthquake” across the Philippine digital asset ecosystem, the global crypto publication reported.

BitPinas has sent an inquiry to the Central Bank but has yet to receive a reply.

Coins.ph states it has over 18 million registered accounts, processes roughly $50 million in 24-hour spot trading volume, and controls an estimated 75% to 80% of the country’s Philippine peso-to-stablecoin liquidity. Neither Coins.ph nor the BSP responded to CoinDesk’s requests for comment, according to the publication.

The Offshore Gaming Connection

The central bank’s heightened scrutiny stems from a broader crackdown initiated over a year ago, when the BSP mandated that regulated financial institutions and e-wallets sever direct in-app links to online gambling platforms.

Following that clampdown, according to the Coindesk report, several offshore gaming entities reportedly migrated transaction flows toward Coins.ph. The platform’s digital asset infrastructure provided these operators with an avenue to utilize cryptocurrencies and stablecoins (such as USDT and USDC) to process settlement payments with offshore partners.

Unlike typical administrative timeouts handed down to payment clearing participants for latency or throughput issues, the BSP’s directive against Coins.ph was not time-bound as the directive did not mention if the suspension is temporary or would continue. (Read More: BSP Suspends Inbound InstaPay and PESONet Transfers for Coins.ph E-Wallet Operator)

(BitPinas has also asked the Central Bank about the duration of the suspension and whether the company is undergoing a Supervisory Assessment Framework (SAFR) rating reassessment)

High-Profile Compliance Exodus

The regulatory intervention follows a wave of high-profile departures within Coins.ph’s risk and legal teams, Coindesk also reported. Key personnel who have recently left the company include:

• Former Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) Lexi Herrera
• Head of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Transaction Monitoring Chris Beaño
• Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) Irish Calagui

The departure of officers tasked with compliance and AML transaction monitoring under BSP Circular 706 and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) guidelines preceded the central bank’s direct intervention.

Dual-Entity Structure and Payment Rail Restrictions

The central bank’s initial enforcement surfaced on September 29, 2026, when Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI) issued PPMI Advisory No. 2026-0929-029. Acting under BSP Monetary Board Resolution No. 839, the clearing switch ordered the immediate partial suspension of DCPay Philippines, Inc. across both InstaPay and PESONet automated clearing houses.

While unified under the consumer-facing Coins.ph brand, the platform operates under two legally distinct licenses:

• DCPay Philippines, Inc.: Holds the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) license governing fiat peso wallets, clearinghouse integrations, and domestic cash transfers. This entity is the subject of the BSP’s inbound suspension order.
• Betur, Inc.: Holds the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license governing digital asset order books, crypto wallets, and custody services.

Under the PPMI directive, DCPay is prohibited from receiving incoming funds via InstaPay (P2P and QRPh) and PESONet, effectively blocking user cash-ins from external commercial banks (such as BDO, BPI, and UnionBank) and competing e-wallets (such as GCash and Maya)^{. Its participation in InstaPay for Business pilot programs was also suspended.}

However, DCPay retained its status as an Originating Financial Institution, allowing existing wallet holders to process outbound withdrawals and send money out to external accounts^{. In-store person-to-merchant (P2M) payments via national QRPh standards also remain authorized.}

Internal Controls and Fund Safety

In a public advisory issued after the clearinghouse halt, Coins.ph stated that the BSP directed the exchange “to introduce enhancements to our internal controls”. The company noted that PHP cash-ins and merchant QRPh collections were temporarily disabled while it worked to meet central bank requirements.

Coins.ph maintained that customer balances remain secure, stating that “customer funds remain safe in accordance with BSP requirements” and that existing users continue to have active access to cash-outs, retail QRPh checkouts, bill payments, and internal cryptocurrency trading^.

Systemic Impact on Philippine Crypto

Because Coins.ph commands up to 80% of local peso-to-stablecoin liquidity, Coindesk is reporting that any regulatory escalation that jeopardizes its dual EMI and VASP licensing carries significant systemic implications.

Beyond retail digital asset trading, stablecoin rails on Coins.ph serve as an increasingly critical settlement layer for cross-border remittances, where overseas Filipino workers repatriate more than $43 billion annually.

This article is published on BitPinas: Coins.ph Inbound Freeze Reportedly Tied to Offshore Gambling; Company Issues Statement

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