Coins.ph, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines, said on Wednesday that its central bank license remains intact, after reports suggested the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could revoke it over alleged transactions tied to restricted offshore gambling operators. The exchange recorded approximately $52 million in 24-hour spot trading volume on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko data — a figure that places it among the country's most active venues, and one now operating under tightened regulatory scrutiny.

"Coins.ph firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators," the company said in an official statement shared with Cointelegraph. "Our users' funds are safe; we continue to operate as a BSP-licensed institution," it added.

What has the central bank actually restricted?

The license dispute follows concrete operational limits. The BSP has restricted incoming InstaPay and PESONet transfers involving DCPay Philippines, the entity that operates Coins.ph's peso e-wallet services. Local outlet BitPinas reported the restrictions were imposed under BSP Monetary Board Resolution No. 839.

The corporate structure matters here. DCPay holds an electronic money issuer license, while a separate entity, Betur Inc., operates the exchange's crypto asset services under a virtual asset service provider license. The reported restrictions target DCPay's payment operations rather than Betur's crypto services — a distinction that explains why trading itself remains functional.

Coins.ph confirmed the practical impact in an earlier advisory. Cash-in services and QRPh collections are temporarily unavailable; crypto trading, cash-outs, bill payments and merchant QRPh payments remain accessible. QRPh is the central bank's national QR payment standard. In plain terms: users can still trade and withdraw, but cannot push new pesos into the wallet through the two main domestic rail systems.

Did the exchange actually serve gambling operators?

The company's denial is carefully worded, and the wording leaves a gap. Coins.ph denied knowingly serving offshore gambling operators. It did not directly address whether such entities had used its platform regardless of intent.

When Cointelegraph asked whether the company could confirm or deny processing transactions involving these operators irrespective of awareness, a spokesperson said they would seek internal clarification and had no further information at the time. That silence is notable — a firm categorical denial was available and was not used.

The BSP has not publicly connected the restrictions to any specific gambling investigation. Cointelegraph sought comment from the central bank; a representative said they would look into the inquiry but had not responded further by publication.

Is there a wider regulatory pattern?

Context suggests a broader tightening. In 2025, the BSP ordered supervised financial institutions to remove links providing access to gambling websites from their payment applications. The central bank has not publicly linked that directive to the Coins.ph action, but the sequence — a sector-wide gambling crackdown followed by targeted payment restrictions — indicates escalating scrutiny of the peso-to-crypto corridor.

An earlier advisory from Coins.ph also said the BSP had instructed it to strengthen internal controls, language that typically precedes formal remediation rather than full enforcement. In plain words: the regulator appears to be tightening screws on the payments side first.

What happens next?

The operational pressure points are clear. Cash-in functionality remains suspended with no stated restoration date, and the BSP has committed to nothing publicly. Coins.ph has promised internal clarification on the gambling-transactions question; readers should treat that promise as unfulfilled until the company answers it directly. The next concrete signal will be either a BSP statement, a resolution disclosure, or the reinstatement of InstaPay and PESONet inflows — whichever arrives first.