Coins.ph, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines with more than 18 million registered users, is facing regulatory scrutiny from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) over allegations that it processed payments linked to restricted offshore gambling operators.
The scrutiny was reported on October 13 by people familiar with the matter. According to those sources, the suspected compliance failures could put the company’s operating license at risk, although no confirmed revocation order has been published and the BSP has not publicly established gambling-related misconduct.
The BSP has restricted incoming transfers through DCPay Philippines, the electronic money issuer responsible for Coins.ph’s peso wallet services. The restrictions affect InstaPay and PESONet cash-in channels, as well as QRPH collection services. Coins.ph confirmed that cryptocurrency trading, outgoing transfers, bill payments and QRPH payments remain available while it works to meet the regulator’s internal-control requirements.
The exchange operates through separate regulated entities: DCPay Philippines handles electronic money and peso transfers, while Betur Inc. operates the virtual asset business under the Coins.ph brand. The company has said customer funds remain protected under applicable BSP requirements.
The current action follows a stricter regulatory environment for online gambling payments. In August 2025, the BSP issued Memorandum M-2025-029, ordering supervised financial institutions to remove gambling access links from payment applications and websites within 48 hours.
Reports concerning Coins.ph’s compliance operations also identified the departure of several senior employees, including compliance chief Lexi Herrera, anti-money laundering transaction monitoring head Chris Beaño and money laundering reporting officer Irish Calagui. The circumstances of those departures have not been independently linked to confirmed regulatory violations.
Coins.ph was founded in 2014, was acquired by Gojek in 2019 for a reported USD 95 million, and was sold in 2022 to an investor group involving Joffre Capital and former Binance chief financial officer Wei Zhou.
For now, there is no confirmed suspension or revocation of the crypto exchange license. However, traders and stakeholders are watching whether further BSP restrictions could reshape the Philippine cryptocurrency exchange landscape.
