Philippine central bank says Binance, partner lack VASP licenses

The Philippine central bank (BSP) has stated that neither Binance nor its local partner, BlockShoals Technologies, holds a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license, according to local media outlet BitPinas. The BSP's announcement follows a recent move by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to re-designate Binance as a global Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) partner, rather than a global VASP, while modifying the terms of BlockShoals' sandbox trial. The central bank emphasized that participating in the SEC's regulatory sandbox does not exempt a company from needing a separate BSP license to operate trading infrastructure. The BSP is currently in discussions with the SEC regarding the partnership.