Binance's attempt to slip back into the Philippines through the SEC's StratBox sandbox just hit a brick wall: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) says neither the exchange nor its local partner BlockShoals Technologies Inc. holds a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license, and sandbox access doesn't change that.
The VASP License Isn't Optional
BSP made it explicit: participation in the SEC's StratBox sandbox does not substitute for a central bank VASP license. Firms must comply with both regimes independently. The SEC even revised its language, now calling Binance a "global crypto-asset service provider" rather than a "global VASP" — a narrower designation that signals the regulators are tightening definitions.
Binance has been barred from the Philippines since 2024, when the SEC ordered internet service providers and app stores to block the exchange. Its return path runs through BlockShoals, a local fintech that received initial SEC clearance in November 2025 under the sandbox framework. But that clearance only allows testing, not commercial operation.
The 90-Day Integration Clock
The revised sandbox terms carry a specific deadline: BlockShoals must integrate its systems with a licensed domestic VASP within 90 days before any user onboarding through Binance infrastructure can begin. That's a hard operational constraint, and it forces Binance to find a partner that already holds a BSP-issued VASP license — a small pool of compliant entities.
Binance is back at the door. Whether it gets in, and on whose terms, will depend on whether BlockShoals can strike that integration deal before the clock runs out.
Source: Philippines' central bank says Binance and its local partner lack licenses to operate
Domain: coindesk.com
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