Philippines SEC Orders Google and Apple to Remove Binance App

Regulatory troubles for Binance are yet to come to a halt. Philippines SEC has directed Google and Apple to remove the Binance application from their online stores.

The regulator cited issues concerning security issues and threats to local economic stability. To this effect, the technical services providers are directed to remove the Binance application from their application stores for access of users in the Philippines.

A press release published on 23rd April by the SEC has confirmed that Big Tech firms are mandated to remove the exchange app. The agency also sent separate notifications to both companies on 19th April.

Safety of Investors

The agency noticed that it has identified Binance access as a threat to investors in the region in regard to the security of funds. SEC Philippines chairperson Emilio B. Aquino noticed that selling or offering unregistered securities to local investors is illegal.

He further stated that working as an unregistered broker in the region is a direct violation of the security regulations of the nation. He further stated that the removal of the Binance app from digital market places will help in the prevention of greater proliferation of illegal activities within the nation.

The regulatory head further asserted that in case that the directive is not followed, it can have detrimental effects on the local economy.

SEC and NTC to Take Action Against Binance

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Philippines and National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) proceeded to block access to Binance sites within their jurisdictions on 25th March. At the same time, the agency issued several warnings to the public against the usage of Binance since November last year.

The agency noticed that the largest crypto exchange is operating without a license which makes soliciting investment from public illicit and operating an exchange to purchase or sell securities an illegal activity.

On 8th April, the SEC reissued statement about a 3-month period in addition to an extension. This timeline will help investors withdraw their funds out of the exchange platform. After the same period, SEC noticed that it would not endorse any method of retrieving funds.

The move blocked access to Binance by SEC and NTC on 21st February was in line with their broader plan to ban unlicensed crypto trading platforms. At the time, Binance was exempted.

The exchange platform has continued to grapple with regulatory issues at an international scale. The platform announced on 18th April that it was making a comeback to India after agreeing to pay $2 million fine for non-compliance and infringement of local regulatory laws.  

On the very day, Binance also received the license to trade as a VASP in Dubai. However, the license was issued after CZ gave up his voting power in the Binance FZE.

DeFi Investors Want to Retrieve Funds Stuck in Bridge Contracts

A Cointelegraph quoted projections from Arkham Research noting that DeFi wallet user are eager to retrieve their funds stuck in bridge contracts. BNB Chain declared native liquid staking on BNB Smart Chain (BSC).

The move was directed towards assisting ecosystem participants to secure network while retaining liquidity for digital assets.

Chainlink launched a cross-chain protocol for introducing interoperability in smart contracts across a multitude of networks. The analytics platform Arkham Researched pointed out 6 DeFi wallets with millions of investment funds stuck in bridge contracts.

BNB Chain claimed that it was set to enable liquid staking on BNB Smart Chain to enable migration of Beacon Chain’s function to BSC as an alternative option.

BNB Chain devs told Cointelegraph that BNB Beacon Chain is set to shut down on June 2024. However, the firm will transfer features to BSC after the closure. BNB Chain noticed that it will enable liquid staking on the BSC ecosystem to secure the network and retaining the liquidity of digital assets.

The firm refrained from issuing a specific time for the new liquid staking feature but maintained that it would take place somewhere in April or May.