The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines (SEC) has announced a collaboration with the University of the Philippines Law Center (UPLC) to conduct a study on digital currency control. In January, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to regulate financial technology.
According to Calvin Lester Lee of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the alliance was formed because of their need to digitise and achieve "innovation through regulation". Lee also added that this collaboration would enable them to introduce innovative financial technologies to their markets through a series of research topics, and public forums as part of the initiative.
The dramatic fall of the FTX exchange has had a serious impact on cryptocurrency markets, so government regulators are now seeking to protect local investors with an innovative approach to overseeing the industry.
Emilio Aquino, chairman of the SEC, noted that they had already started developing rules to regulate crypto activity, but because of some cryptocurrencies going bankrupt last year, it was decided that the rules needed to be amended. To do this successfully, joint research with the UPLC is needed to create future legal regulations in this area.
Digital assets have been spreading rapidly across the country recently. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued about 80 warnings in enforcement measures against serial offenders and even warned against using unlicensed crypto exchanges in late December last year.
More recently, however, the central bank of the Philippines has expressed its willingness to explore the possibility of launching its own virtual currency for interbank payments.
