ChainCatcher news, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) plans to tighten reporting requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASP) to enhance data collection and supervision. The BSP released a draft notice over the weekend, revealing that a new reporting portal for all VASPs will be launched by January 1, 2025.The notice outlines the new reporting requirements aimed at bridging data gaps, reducing information discrepancies, improving data collection, and enhancing the quality of data related to virtual assets and VASPs.According to the bank, VASPs will be required to submit 13 reports at different intervals. Monthly, they must submit two reports on transaction volume, value, and total assets under custody. Seven reports are required quarterly, including data on operational offices, websites, and account holder statistics. Additionally, three reports must be submitted biannually. An audited financial statement must also be provided annually.VASPs must submit currency service business reports using existing channels in the first two quarters of 2025. After that, unless otherwise instructed, all submissions must switch to the new reporting portal.Entities that fail to comply with these requirements will face enforcement actions. VASPs must submit feedback on the proposed changes by December 13.

ChainCatcher news, Sydney Lai, co-founder of Gaia and head of developer relations, was interviewed by ABS-CBN News in the Philippines, where he shared Gaia's future vision for AI.It is reported that Gaia is a decentralized open-source artificial intelligence infrastructure platform that enables developers to create, deploy AI agents, and profit from them. The platform provides secure, collaborative AI development through decentralized applications, thereby realizing a transformative AI ecosystem based on the principles of decentralized computing and data ownership.

ChainCatcher news, the Philippine National Police (PNP) arrested 99 individuals suspected of involvement in cryptocurrency and romance scams during a raid in Parañaque City. The unregistered company forced both foreign and local employees to engage in illicit activities.Investigations revealed that the company used customer service representatives to impersonate wealthy models and other roles to deceive victims into investing in manipulated cryptocurrency trading platforms, demonstrating clear fraudulent intent.Police identified 64 foreign nationals and 32 Filipino employees as customer service representatives involved in the scam. Key figures include company manager Nan Shan, owner Su De Tu, and supervisor Wu Jian Bin. Those involved will face charges under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and the Philippine Securities Regulation Code.

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, the Central Bank of the Philippines has lifted the ban on establishing digital banks, and it will allow up to 10 digital banks to operate.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Layer 1 blockchain Venom Foundation has announced a historic agreement with the Republic of the Philippines to digitize billions of forms using its advanced blockchain technology.By staking on Venom, the Philippine government has demonstrated unprecedented trust and confidence in blockchain as a national-level operational solution that is secure, scalable, and efficient. This move is expected to revolutionize the way governments and large institutions handle data, transactions, and record-keeping, setting new standards for transparency and efficiency.Utilizing Venom technology to digitize approximately 10 billion traceable forms, including but not limited to invoices or receipts, cash tickets, document stamp duties, and special bank receipts, and to individually identify, account for, and provide appropriate security for them. This initiative marks a new phase in the country's digitalization process.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week that it has filed criminal charges against two Russian citizens, accusing them of stealing cryptocurrency XRP worth 340 million Philippine pesos (approximately 6.2 million USD) from local dealers.According to the charges filed with the Taguig Regional Trial Court, the defendants Vladimir Evgenevich Avdeev and Sergey Yaschuck are facing charges under Republic Act No. 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.Avdeev and Yaschuck served as consultants for Coins.ph, a Philippine cryptocurrency exchange under Betur Inc., and are alleged to have hacked into the company's system, resulting in the theft of 12.2 million XRP.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Paper, recently, two Chinese nationals were kidnapped and murdered in the Philippines, with police from three countries involved in the investigation. The families are still waiting for the autopsy results and updates on the investigation. The media learned from multiple sources that the two victims were engaged in the medical device industry and belonged to different companies. One was a Chinese citizen and the other was a Chinese American, who were kidnapped after arriving in the Philippines and were found dead on June 24.The family of the Chinese American, Ms. Yang, stated that the kidnappers demanded 15 million RMB to be converted into USDT cryptocurrency and sent to a designated account. Her family did not pay the ransom, while the family of Mr. Xia also received similar ransom demands and paid 3 million RMB.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, the chairman of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission, Emilio B. Aquino, announced plans to introduce a cryptocurrency regulatory framework in the second half of 2024, aimed at protecting the interests of Filipinos engaged in cryptocurrency trading.

ChainCatcher news, according to DLNews, after the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission requested the country's telecommunications regulatory agency to block Binance this week, users in the country began withdrawing funds from Binance. According to screenshots shared by GCash Assistant Vice President Luis Buenaventura with DL News, merchants on the Binance P2P market are selling Tether's USDT at a discount of 5% to 7%, while retail customers are facing hefty on-chain transaction fees.In some cases, the fees for transferring held assets from Bitcoin and Ethereum to other wallets or exchanges exceed $12.

ChainCatcher news, according to local media reports, the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will continue to block the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance in the country. The regulatory agency stated that its application submitted to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of the Philippines has been approved, which requested the removal of local access to Binance's main website and other related platforms.Philippines SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino stated in a letter to the NTC that Binance is "a threat to the safety of investment funds in the Philippines." Binance has been providing services such as cryptocurrency savings accounts and leveraged trading products in the country without the necessary licenses. While the total number of Binance users in the Philippines remains unknown, the cryptocurrency news publication Coin Journal estimates that as of February last year, there were 7 million cryptocurrency owners in the Philippines, accounting for approximately 6.1% of the total population.

ChainCatcher news, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of the Philippines has begun blocking the websites of cryptocurrency companies that offer investment products in the country without the necessary permits. Local media Bitpinas reported that the websites of cryptocurrency companies MiTrade and OctaFX are currently inaccessible in the country.Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Kelvin Lee stated that the Binance ban in the country will take effect three months after its announcement on November 29, indicating that Binance should have been banned on February 29. However, the Binance exchange remains accessible in the country.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines, Eli Remolona Jr, stated that the Philippines may issue a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) within two years, but does not intend to use the blockchain or distributed ledger technology that supports many virtual assets.According to Inquirer, Eli Remolona Jr said: "Other central banks have tried blockchain, but it hasn't worked well."

ChainCatcher news, the blockchain game Axie Infinity announced on social media that it has reached a strategic partnership with the Philippine payment platform Gcash. Filipinos can now access AXS and SLP through GCash's GCrypto feature. Currently, about 80 million (80% of the total population) internet users in the Philippines use GCash for financial services such as transfers, bill payments, or online shopping.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Kelvin Lee, head of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission, clearly stated that the ban on Binance will take effect three months after the announcement is made. Lee mentioned that there has been a lot of confusion online regarding the ban after the regulatory agency issued a warning about Binance's unlicensed operations on November 28. He clarified that the ban "should be three months from the date of publication," with the publication date being November 29.In addition to Binance, two other exchanges, OctaFX and MiTrade, recently received warnings from the regulatory agency regarding their unregistered operations, and they will also face bans in three months. The local SEC stated that they have a "considerable" list of unregistered exchanges that will gradually come to light. However, after seeing the actions taken against Binance, they are also trying to take a "wait-and-see" approach regarding whether these exchanges are registered.