Philippines orders removal of Binance from Google and Apple app stores CNBC
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Philippines orders removal of Binance from Google and Apple app stores - CNBC
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The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered both Google and Apple to remove the Binance app from their respective app stores for users in the Philippines.
According to a press release from the SEC on April 23, it is working with the Big Tech companies on the removal of applications operated by cryptocurrency giant Binance. It said the companies received separate letters on April 19 regarding removing the apps in the local marketplaces.
Emilio B. Aquino, chair of the SEC, said that selling or offering unregistered securities to locals and operating as an unregistered broker is in violation of the countrys securities regulations.
He said that by removing Binance applications from digital app marketplaces, these companies would help prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, saying that otherwise, this could have detrimental effects on the local economy.
This move comes shortly after the SEC and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) blocked access to Binance websites on March 25.
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The SEC has been actively warning the public against using Binance for investing since November 2023. It says the crypto exchange, which is one of the worlds largest, has yet to secure a license to solicit investments from the public nor to operate an exchange to buy and sell securities.
On April 8, following the enforcement of its official ban on Binance, an SEC official reiterated that they had already provided users with a three-month period, along with an extension, to facilitate the withdrawal of their funds from the exchange. After this period, the SEC said they cannot endorse any methods for retrieving funds.
The move to block Binance follows a crackdown from the SEC and the NTC on Feb. 21, through whichthey moved to block and ban unlicensed crypto trading platforms in the country. At that time Binance was unaffected.
Binance has been involved in other regulatory-related debacles around the world, most recently in a new class-action lawsuit in Canada on April 23, following allegations that it violated local securities laws.
However, on the flip side, the cryptocurrency exchange announced on April 18 that it would return to India after payinga $2 million fine for previous non-compliance with local regulations.
On the same day, it was reported that Binance received its crypto licence in Dubai, also known as the coveted Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), after its co-founder Changpeng Zhao gave up his voting power in the exchanges local entity.
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Philippines SEC orders Apple and Google to remove Binance from app stores - Cointelegraph
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Cryptocurrency giantBinancecould soon find it harder to do business in the Philippines.
The countrysSecurities and Exchange Commission(SEC) on Tuesday (April 23) called on Apple and Google toremove Binances appfrom their app stores, a move that followed months of the regulator warning residents not to do business with the company.
Commission ChairpersonEmilio Aquinosaid in a news release that it had concluded that the publics continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos.
He added that the sale or offer of unregistered securities to Filipinos and operating as an unregistered broker violates the countrys securities code and that blocking Binances apps will prevent thefurther proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, and to protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy.
PYMNTS has contacted Binance for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.
The SEC first targeted Binance last year, with the regulator announcing in November that it was blocking access to Binance, saying the company was not a registered corporation in the Philippines authorized to sell or offer securities. As noted here at the time, it was part of a broaderseries of pressuresfacing the company in Asia.
Tuesdays SEC news release notes that the agency had also asked the countrys NationalTelecommunications Commission to restrict access to websites used by Binance in thePhilippines to stop its unauthorized investment solicitation activities in the country.
The requests follow similar moves by regulators in India, who earlier this year asked Google and Apple toremove Binanceand other crypto companies from the app stores in that country.
And in December of last year, Indias Financial Intelligence Unit moved to block the URLs of nine offshore virtual digital asset service providers Binance among them saying these companies were not adhering to thecountrys Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Binance is also facingmoney laundering and tax evasionallegations in Nigeria, where two of its executives are being held after their arrest in February. Binance CEO Richard Teng said last week that the company is working with Nigerian authorities toresolve the matter, according to a Reuters report.
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Philippines Wants Binance Yanked From Apple and Google App Stores - PYMNTS.com
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Binance's Rivals Muscle In on Bitcoin Trading Around the World Bloomberg
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Binance's Rivals Muscle In on Bitcoin Trading Around the World - Bloomberg
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Binance users will have a chance to bag an allocation for EZ, the native token for liquid staking protocol Renzo.
According to an announcement, Binance Launchpool will list Renzo (EZ) as its 53rd project on April 30. The maximum supply is set at 10 billion tokens, and the platform will field 1.05 billion EZ coins as an initial supply.
In February, Binance, cryptos largest centralized exchange, previously invested in the Renzo protocol. However, the monetary amount injected into the project remained undisclosed. The investment was made via Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of the exchange now operates as a standalone business.
At the time, Binance Labs was worth $10 billion and its portfolio supported over 250 crypto protocols, per details provided by the company.
Following its mainnet launch in October last year, the Renzo protocol has grown into a major player in the Ethereum (ETH) liquid restaking market. DefiLlama data showed that users have deposited $3.39 billion into the defi platform.
With a 144% increase in the past month, Renzo is the second-largest liquid restaker on Ethereum. Only Ether.fi boasts a bigger user demand at $3.82 billion in total value locked.
Liquid restaking protocols spun off EigenLayer, a platform that allows users to secure other chains and dapps by repurposing staked ETH. The initiative also provides an additional yield source for stakers and derivative tokens to improve on-chain utility.
While the sector is now valued at over $10 billion, experts are divided over the risks associated with liquid staking, with some arguing that it is overstated and others advising caution among participants.
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Binance to list Renzo as 53rd Launchpool token - crypto.news
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