Coins.ph, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the Philippines, is reportedly facing punitive action from the country’s central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), over alleged links to offshore gambling. CoinDesk reported the story on 14 October 2026, citing two people with knowledge of the situation.
Coins.ph denies knowingly serving gambling operators and says it still holds its licence. The BSP has not commented publicly.
What is reportedly alleged
According to CoinDesk’s sources, the alleged infractions involve serving offshore gambling firms. One of the people told CoinDesk the problems were serious enough for the company to lose its licence to operate, which would cause “an earthquake” in the Philippines’ crypto industry. That is one source’s view. No regulator has said a licence will be revoked.
The background is a 2025 crackdown. The BSP told the firms it supervises to cut access to gambling sites from their payment apps. According to CoinDesk’s sources, some gambling businesses then moved to Coins.ph, which also gave them access to crypto and stablecoins for paying partners abroad. Cointelegraph noted that the BSP has not publicly linked that directive to the action against Coins.ph.
This makes it, at heart, an anti-money-laundering story: whether an exchange did enough to spot and block money from restricted sources.
What has already been restricted
The restrictions so far hit Coins.ph’s e-money business. BitPinas, a Philippine crypto news site, reported that on 29 September 2026 the country’s payment clearing operator, Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI), issued Advisory No. 2026-0929-029. Acting under a BSP Monetary Board resolution, it partially suspended DCPay Philippines, Inc. from the InstaPay and PESONet transfer systems.
In practice, BitPinas said, people can no longer send money into Coins.ph wallets from banks or other e-wallets. Withdrawals out of Coins.ph still work, and so do in-store QRPh payments to merchants.
CoinDesk reported that, according to one of its sources, the restriction has no end date and no reason was given.
Two companies, two licences
Coins.ph is one brand but two regulated companies, BitPinas explained. DCPay Philippines holds the electronic money issuer (EMI) licence that covers peso wallets and bank transfers; it is the company named in the suspension. Betur, Inc. holds the virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence that covers crypto trading, wallets and custody.
Why it matters
Coins.ph has over 18 million customers, about $50 million in daily spot trading and controls some 75% to 80% of peso-to-stablecoin liquidity in the Philippines, according to CoinDesk. CoinDesk describes the Philippines as the world’s fourth-largest recipient of remittances, money sent home by workers abroad.
CoinDesk also reported that several senior compliance staff left the exchange this year, including chief compliance officer Lexi Herrera, Chris Beaño, who led anti-money-laundering transaction monitoring, and money laundering reporting officer Irish Calagui.
What Coins.ph says
“Coins.ph firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators. We hold ourselves to the requirements and standards of the BSP, AMLC and other regulatory authorities, and full compliance sits at the core of how we operate,” the company said in a statement published by BitPinas. The AMLC is the Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council.
“Our users’ funds are safe; we continue to operate as a BSP licensed institution. We expect to fully restore affected services soon and will share updates through our official channels,” it added.
Cointelegraph pointed out that the statement did not directly address whether gambling operators had used the platform. Asked about that, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph they would seek clarification internally.
The BSP had not responded to CoinDesk by publication time. A central bank representative told Cointelegraph they would look into its inquiry.
What this means
- This is still unconfirmed. The alleged infractions come from unnamed sources, and the central bank has said nothing publicly.
- Customers feel it already. Money can’t currently be sent into Coins.ph wallets from banks or other e-wallets, though withdrawals still work.
- Compliance is the issue. Gambling-linked flows and departing compliance staff put the focus on how well exchanges police where money comes from.
Sources
- CoinDesk, “Coins.ph, Philippines’ largest crypto exchange, faces central bank regulatory action”, 14 October 2026 (updated with Coins.ph comment). https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/13/largest-philippines-crypto-exchange-coins-ph-said-to-face-central-bank-regulatory-action
- BitPinas, “Coins.ph License Reportedly at Risk Over Gambling Ties, but Platform Denies Claims It Knowingly Serves Offshore Gaming Firms”, 14 October 2026. https://bitpinas.com/feature/coins-ph-inbound-freeze-reportedly/
- Cointelegraph, “Coins.ph says Philippine central bank license intact amid revocation claims”, 14 October 2026. https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinsph-says-bsp-license-intact-amid-claims-of-potential-revocation
