The Philippine government drafts new Bitcoin regulatory policies to establish the legal status of cryptocurrencies

The growing popularity of Bitcoin in the remittance space has prompted the Philippine government to draft new regulations for it.

The decision was publicly announced by Nestor Espenilla, deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. In response, Espenilla said that cryptocurrency regulation would benefit the Filipino people by protecting them as remittances from family and friends abroad continue to increase.

Espenilla told a major business news outlet in the Philippines:

“We are looking at potential money laundering and consumer protection. We are looking at bringing virtual currency exchange operators under a more formal regulatory framework.”

The head of the Philippine central bank’s supervision and inspection unit mentioned that the new regulations will establish the legal status of cryptocurrencies in the country . At the same time, it will also make cryptocurrency platform operators subject to the same anti-money laundering regulations as other institutions.

The Central Bank of the Philippines said that now is the right time to introduce cryptocurrency regulation because the current monthly Bitcoin remittance volume in the Philippines has reached about $2 million. The country's largest cryptocurrency company, Satoshi Citadel Industries' Rebit.ph platform occupies a leading position in the country's Bitcoin remittance industry. By using Bitcoin for remittances, people can save some transaction and foreign exchange fees.

The introduction of Bitcoin regulation will provide a protective framework for the interests of cryptocurrency users and platforms, which will have a positive impact on the ecosystem. It will also implant legitimacy into cryptocurrency-based operations, while providing businesses with clear considerations and increasing the use of Bitcoin by the public, so that users do not have to worry about any 'non-existent' cryptocurrency use impact.

It is only a matter of time before countries come up with their own versions of Bitcoin regulation. Early movers, such as the Philippines, should make sure they get it right, as they will set a precedent for other countries.