Philippine Stock Exchange Mulling Over Launching Local Crypto Market

The Philippine Stock Exchange is planning to be first in line when regulatory authorities give the green light for digital asset asset trading in the nation.

Recently, CNN reported that the Philippine Stock Exchange president and CEO Ramon Monzon mentioned the local market should be the nation’s first exchange platform for virtual currencies.

He mentioned,

“If there should be any exchange for cryptos, it should be done at the PSE. Why? Number one, it’s because we have the trading infrastructure. But more importantly, we’ll be able to have investor protection safeguards especially with a product like crypto.”

The nation’s stock exchange is now looking for instructions from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission and other financial regulatory bodies.

Regardless of his enthusiasm to support digital asset markets, Monzon notified about the volatility of digital assets. He stated,

“Instant riches could be instant poverty too.”

Notably, the country has attempted to establish itself as a regional hub for digital assets in recent years, opening its Special Economic Zones in Cagayan to cryptocurrency-focussed establishments in 2018.

In the month of January, the central bank established new requirements for digital currency service providers after noticing remarkable growth in the use of cryptocurrencies over the last couple of years.