IT expert warns of unlicensed crypto platforms used for illegal activities

An IT expert on Wednesday urged Filipinos to be cautious of unlicensed cryptocurrency platforms, which he said are often used by criminal syndicates for illegal activities.

Reyner Villaseñor, co-chair of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines ICT committee, highlighted that these platforms facilitate the movement of large sums of money with minimal traceability and have been linked to ransom payments, human trafficking profits, kidnappings, human trafficking, large-scale scams, drug operations, and illegal gambling.

Villaseñor cited losses from cybercrime incidents among supervised financial institutions reaching P5.82 billion in 640 million to online crime in 2024 according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data and Global Anti-Scam Alliance, emphasizing the need for stricter regulation and enforcement against unlicensed crypto platforms.

The IT expert said that these rogue exchanges offer near-total anonymity without properly audited KYC or Know-Your-Customer and anti-money laundering controls-standard mandated on licensed platforms.

He called on regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to delist unauthorized crypto apps, deploy advanced tracking technology, and implement a comprehensive digital literacy campaign.

Villaseñor also urged authorities to conduct strict ISP-level enforcement to block access to these platforms and highlighted the case of Binance being blocked by the SEC in 2024 due to its unregistered status in the Philippines.