Coins.ph, Philippine crypto giant, faces central-bank pressure over gambling ties

Coins.ph, the Philippines' largest cryptocurrency exchange with more than 18 million customers, is facing possible punitive action from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), people familiar with the matter told CoinDesk — while the company denies knowingly serving offshore gambling operators and says user funds remain safe.

What regulators are said to be probing

Two sources described infractions involving transactions for offshore gaming / gambling firms as serious enough that the exchange could lose its licence — a shock for a platform that CoinDesk says handles roughly $50 million in 24-hour spot volume and 75–80% of local peso-to-stablecoin liquidity in one of the world's top remittance corridors.

Earlier this month BSP reportedly restricted deposits routed through Coins.ph's main wallet firm, DCPay Philippines. Unlike typical short throughput suspensions, the restriction was described as open-ended and without a public reason.

Staff exits and the company's reply

High-profile compliance departures this year included CCO Lexi Herrera and AML specialists Chris Beaño and Irish Calagui, CoinDesk reported. After publication, Coins.ph emailed a statement: it remains a BSP-licensed institution, expects to restore affected services, and "firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators."

BSP had not commented by CoinDesk's deadline.

Why remittances amplify the stakes

More than 10.8 million Filipinos live abroad; official remittances run about $43 billion a year. Most still move through banks and money-transfer firms, but Coins.ph's share of peso–stablecoin rails makes any licence threat systemically important for local crypto liquidity.