The IMF encourages the Central Bank of Philippines to collect cross-border cryptocurrency exchange data
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that it considers the Southeast Asian nation one of the most important markets for the development of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The IMF has encouraged the Philippines to improve the collection of transaction data for cryptocurrency assets as the country is seen to attract more players to the emerging financial ecosystem.
The central bank of the Philippines oversees the flow of cryptocurrency transactions moving abroad. The article published by the IMF as part of their Monetary mission in the Philippines began last July again. The IMF also gave a lecture on the role of cryptocurrency assets in macroeconomics, according to the report.
It has urged relevant national authorities to make the transaction data collection process more efficient. In the report, reviewing the period ending in July 2019, the IMF noted that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) authorized the operation of three other virtual currency exchanges (VCE), bringing the total number of VCE licenses to 10.
An updated listing on the BSP LINE website shows that it approved a total of 13 VCEs by the end of October last year.
To date, BCE-licensed VCE service providers include Betur Inc (Coins.ph), Rebittance Inc, Bloomsolutions Inc, Virtual Currency Philippines Inc, Etranss Remittance International Corp, Fyntegrate Inc, Zybi Tech Inc, Bexpress Inc, Coinville Philippines Inc, Aba Global Philippines Inc, Bitan Moneytech Co Ltd, Telcoin Corp, and Atomtrans Tech Corp.
The report was released on December 30, 2019, and it will be read carefully by the cryptocurrency industry in the Philippines. The IMF stated,
The mission encourages BSP to begin exploring the ability to collect data on these exchanges for macroeconomic analysis, especially international financial flows using cryptocurrency assets.
The task proposed that BSP require aggregated data on total transactions from the quarterly exchanges.
The data must show both the country of origin and the destination of the funds traded. Most useful if disclosing parties involved in transactions between individuals, financial and non-financial corporations in detail.
The IMF recommends close monitoring of cryptocurrency transactions
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines regulatory authority, registers cryptocurrency providers as a money transfer, and cross-border money transfer company must comply with anti-money laundering laws, counter-terrorist finance and risk management. While BSP now has positive prospects for cryptocurrency assets thanks to their legal support for cryptocurrency exchanges, the governor of the BSP has warned how these virtual currencies can assist criminals in carrying out illegal activities.
The recent IMF report emphasized the need for central banks to monitor these cryptocurrency transactions, especially once leaving the country to track if these virtual assets have ever been used for illegal activities by criminals. While many are divided on the state of regulations for cryptocurrencies as well as the level of rules, but given the controversies surrounding the decentralized space. Precautions are the best way to avoid illegal use of these digital assets.
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