The Binance app is no longer available on the Google Play Store in the Philippines, according to local media.
Summary
- The Binance app is no longer accessible on the Philippine Google Play Store, according to local media.
- Philippine regulators have cracked down on non-compliant foreign exchanges.
Users searching for “Binance” on the Philippine version of the app store are being redirected to listings for local exchange Coins.ph and region-specific versions such as Binance TH for Thailand and Binance TR for Turkey, according to local media.
One user going by the handle “realitynofantasy” was seen on Reddit questioning whether the disappearance was a technical bug or a signal that the exchange was exiting the Philippine market on the official Binance subreddit. See below.
Filipino locals are also unable to access the crypto exchange’s main website, the report added. Screenshots and user testimonials reviewed by the outlet showed error messages such as “Privacy Error” and “Site can’t be reached.”
At press time, Binance had not issued any public statement addressing the app’s unavailability in the Philippines, but it may be linked to a regulatory crackdown on foreign exchanges led by the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Telecommunications Commission.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the SEC sent letters to both Google and Apple in late 2024, urging the tech companies to remove the Binance app from their respective Philippine app stores. The letter was sent just months after the National Telecommunications Commission blocked access to the exchange’s website nationwide.
At the time, the SEC said Binance was offering unregistered securities to Philippine residents and operating as an unlicensed broker in violation of the Securities Regulation Code.
The Philippines has also blocked several other foreign exchanges that it deemed were operating without a license.
Binance has navigated similar challenges in India, where it was fined by the country’s regulator for non-compliance. However, after paying a hefty fine, the exchange continues its operations as a registered entity.