THE cryptocurrency exchange Binance is not authorized to sell or offer securities to the public in the Philippines, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Presently, the SEC said that they are considering blocking the said cryptocurrency in the Philippines.

This is to safeguard the public from unregistered investment products.

Binance is said to be the biggest crypto exchange in the world, to which there is a yearly trading of volumes that had even hit trillions of dollars. 

The SEC had said that Binance is actively campaigning on social media in order to  attract the Filipinos to participate and trade cryptocurrencies on its platform.

But the Securities Regulation Code mandates that the entities seeking to trade securities must secure a secondary license with the SEC, the agency added. 

“Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents, representatives, promoters, recruiters, influencers, endorsers, and enablers of Binance in selling or convincing people to invest in its platform within the Philippines, even through online means, may be held criminally liable under Section 28 of the SRC and be penalized up to P5 million or suffer imprisonment of up to 21 years, or both,” the SEC warned.