Coins.ph, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the Philippines, is facing punitive action from the country’s central bank, according to an October 13 CoinDesk report citing two people with knowledge of the situation. The alleged infractions involve serving restricted offshore gambling companies, and one source told CoinDesk they are serious enough that the company could lose its license to operate.
The story spread quickly across crypto X overnight. Coin Bureau and Wu Blockchain both flagged the 18-million-user platform’s potential license risk, and by Wednesday morning in Asia outlets such as crypto.news and PANews were carrying follow-ups.
Coins.ph rejects the core allegation. Below is a breakdown of what is on the record, what remains unverified, and why the outcome matters well beyond one exchange.
What is confirmed
The verifiable part of this story started two weeks before the CoinDesk report.
- Inbound peso transfers are blocked. According to Fintech News Philippines, citing BitPinas, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) partially suspended DCPay Philippines Inc., the e-money issuer behind Coins.ph’s peso wallet. The Philippine Payments Management Inc. notified banks through PPMI Advisory No. 2026-0929-029, “pursuant to BSP Monetary Board Resolution No. 839,” that DCPay could no longer receive incoming credit transfers over InstaPay or PESONet.
- Coins.ph acknowledged the directive. In a user advisory reported by BitPinas on October 2, the company said the BSP had instructed DCPay to “enhance its internal controls.” Cash-ins via InstaPay, PESONet, and incoming QRPh collections were made temporarily unavailable.
- Other services still run. Outbound cash-outs, merchant QRPh payments, bill payments, and crypto trading remain active, according to the same advisory. The crypto business operates under a separate virtual asset service provider licensee, Betur Inc., so the DCPay restriction does not, on its own, mean the exchange has lost its crypto authorization.
- Coins.ph’s response. In a statement given to CoinDesk after publication, the company said user funds are safe, that it continues to operate as a BSP-licensed institution, and that it expects to fully restore affected services soon. “Coins.ph firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators,” it said.
What is still a claim
Several of the most striking details come from anonymous sources and have not been confirmed by the regulator.
- The gambling link. CoinDesk’s sources say several gambling entities moved to Coins.ph after the BSP made e-wallets cut in-app access to gambling sites a little over a year ago. A third person said the move also gave those firms access to crypto and stablecoins to pay offshore partners. The BSP had not commented at the time of publication, and crypto.news notes it found no official BSP finding of gambling-related misconduct.
- License revocation. The “earthquake” scenario of a lost operating license comes from one source. No revocation or suspension order for the exchange has been published.
- Compliance departures. CoinDesk reports that chief compliance officer Lexi Herrera, AML transaction-monitoring head Chris Beaño, and money laundering reporting officer Irish Calagui left the company this year. Neither the company nor the regulator has publicly tied these exits to any violation.
One detail stands out: a source told CoinDesk the restriction was not time-bound, unlike the temporary suspensions sometimes imposed for technical issues such as throughput or latency failures. That suggests a supervisory matter rather than a routine operational penalty, though the BSP has not said so publicly.
Why the BSP is focused on gambling flows
The context is a broad crackdown. In August 2025, the BSP issued Memorandum M-2025-029, ordering supervised institutions to remove gambling access links from their apps and websites within 48 hours, as crypto.news describes. In September 2026, the central bank proposed a 12-month pause on new payment system operator registrations along with stricter merchant traceability rules. That followed findings that online casinos disguised as beauty salons and bakeries were processing bets through payment platforms, which led to more than 8,000 merchant account closures, according to Fintech News Philippines.
In other words, Coins.ph is not being singled out in a vacuum. Regulators are working to close every route that lets gambling money flow through licensed payment rails, and a crypto-plus-e-wallet platform is an obvious place to look.
Why it matters: liquidity and remittances
Coins.ph is not a minor player. CoinDesk reports that the 12-year-old company has more than 18 million customers, about $50 million in 24-hour spot volume, and roughly 75%–80% of peso-to-stablecoin liquidity in the country.
That last figure is the important one. The Philippines is the world’s fourth-largest remittance recipient. More than 10.8 million Filipinos live abroad and send home about $43 billion a year, mostly through banks and money transfer firms. Stablecoins are a growing alternative channel, and the main peso on- and off-ramp for that activity sits inside a platform whose inbound fiat rail is currently frozen.
If the restriction drags on, or escalates to a license action, the likely effects include:
- Fragmented liquidity. Peso-stablecoin conversion would shift to smaller local players or offshore venues, likely with wider spreads.
- User friction. Customers can still cash out, but topping up from banks and e-wallets like GCash or Maya is blocked. That pushes users to keep balances elsewhere.
- Tighter compliance across the sector. Every Philippine VASP and e-money issuer is likely to review gambling-related merchant exposure, which could slow onboarding.
What to watch next
- An official BSP statement. So far, the regulator has said nothing publicly about the substance of the allegations.
- Restoration of InstaPay and PESONet cash-ins. Coins.ph says it is completing internal-control upgrades “within the set regulatory timelines” but has not given a date.
- Any action involving Betur Inc., the separately licensed crypto entity. A move there would signal a much more serious escalation than the DCPay restriction.
- Peso-stablecoin spreads on rival platforms, as a real-time gauge of whether liquidity is leaving.
The bottom line
The confirmed facts are narrower than the headlines. The BSP has restricted inbound peso transfers to DCPay and ordered better internal controls, while crypto trading continues under a separately licensed entity. The more dramatic claims of offshore gambling flows and a possible license loss come from unnamed sources and are firmly denied by Coins.ph. Still, given the platform’s grip on peso-stablecoin liquidity and the BSP’s sustained campaign against gambling payments, this is one of the most consequential regulatory stories in Southeast Asian crypto right now.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial, legal, or investment advice. Crypto assets are volatile, and regulatory outcomes are uncertain. Do your own research before making any decisions.