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P2P Crypto in the Philippines: GCash, Licensed Exchanges, Taxes and Risks

Everything specific to P2P crypto with the Philippine peso: individuals may trade, but platforms must be registered, and most offshore exchanges that host PHP P2P have been blocked. This guide covers the SEC and BSP rules, which providers are licensed, how GCash and InstaPay behave in disputes, how gains are taxed and what our live data shows.

AuthorAntonio MerklePublishedOctober 30, 202611 min read

Licensed providers and the PHP P2P market

Two regulators matter. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) licenses virtual asset service providers (VASPs): after removing two providers on July 31, 2026, its list showed eight active ones — six non-bank, including Coins.ph, PDAX and Maya Philippines, and two banks, GoTyme Bank and UnionBank. The BSP has frozen new VASP licences since 2022; the freeze was extended in August 2025. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registers crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) under rules in force since July 5, 2025, which also apply to foreign platforms serving Filipinos and require ₱100 million paid-up capital and a local office.

The PHP P2P market, however, sits mostly on offshore exchanges — Binance holds about 39% of the ads in our data. The table below is live market statistics; it includes exchanges that Philippine regulators consider unregistered.

Live dataPHP on P2P exchanges right now

Exchange	Buy USDT	Sell USDT	Spread	Ads	Activity 24H
Binance	64.08	63.66	+0.66%	890	42,381
Okx	64.14	64.27	-0.20%	413	23,934
Bybit	64.27	63.84	+0.69%	340	16,363
Mexc	64.95	62.44	+4.01%	177	13,221
Bitget	64.41	63.90	+0.80%	111	10,657
Kucoin	65.65	63.33	+3.67%	105	541
Gate	64.49	63.85	+1.00%	85	1,218
BingX	64.87	63.61	+1.98%	66	2,010
HTX	64.86	62.92	+3.08%	43	178

Payment methods

GCash and Maya

GCash, run by G-Xchange, is the most common PHP P2P method. Its terms (effective May 10, 2026) say bank transfers are final once credited, refunds for mistaken transfers may or may not be made, disputed amounts can be held for up to 30 days and debited if fraud is found, and business use requires GCash’s permission. GCash also offers its own crypto service, GCrypto, powered by PDAX, which in October 2026 added external transfers. Maya Philippines is itself a BSP-licensed VASP.

InstaPay, PESONet and GoTyme

InstaPay is the real-time interbank system, with a ₱50,000 per-transaction limit for individuals; PESONet settles in batches on banking days with no scheme-wide cap. GoTyme Bank, a digital bank launched in October 2022, is also one of the two bank VASPs.

Taxes and regulation

Blocked exchanges

The SEC warned against Binance in November 2023 and announced blocking in March 2024; Google Play removed the app in February 2026 and Apple removed Binance, Bitget, OKX and MEXC in April 2026. An SEC advisory of August 1, 2025 named OKX, Bybit, MEXC, KuCoin, Bitget, Phemex, CoinEx, BitMart, Poloniex and Kraken, and major ISPs blocked them within a week. In December 2025 the telecom regulator ordered ISPs to block 50 platforms flagged by the BSP, which made Coinbase and Gemini unreachable. In May 2026 Binance announced a return through BlockShoals in the SEC sandbox, but the SEC said the arrangement is for testing only, and we found no confirmation of a launch.

1. Jun 2020

   Binance adds PHP to P2P

2. Mar 2024

   SEC proceeds with blocking Binance

3. Jul 2024

   Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA)

   Holds on disputed funds; account renting criminalised.
4. Jul 5, 2025

   SEC CASP rules take effect

5. Aug 2025

   SEC flags ten offshore exchanges; ISPs block them

6. Dec 2025

   ISPs ordered to block 50 platforms

7. Apr 2026

   Apple removes Binance, Bitget, OKX and MEXC apps

8. Jul 31, 2026

   BSP removes two VASPs

   Eight active VASPs remain.

Local risks

Under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) of July 2024 and BSP Circular 1215, banks and e-wallets can hold disputed funds for up to 30 days, and a court can extend the hold. Acting as a money mule can bring 6–8 years in prison and fines of ₱100,000–500,000, and buying or selling an account 4–6 years. The Anti-Money Laundering Council can obtain Court of Appeals freeze orders of 20 days, extendable to six months; in September 2026 it froze 25 crypto wallets in a corruption case. Banks have also frozen or closed P2P traders’ accounts — CIMB did so between December 2023 and March 2024. The BSP warns that enforcement can cut off access to assets held on unlicensed platforms.

• Use BSP-licensed or SEC-registered providers; check the current lists before depositing.
• Accept money only from the KYC account holder, never from third parties.
• Never rent, lend or sell your bank or e-wallet account — it is a crime under AFASA.
• Check every payment in your own app; ignore screenshots and “confirmation” messages.
• Report scams to the CICC hotline 1326; beware of fake CICC pages asking for payments.

Full PHP market statistics are on the PHP page. To understand how P2P spreads, payment methods and risks work in general, see the free course “P2P Arbitrage from Scratch”.

About the author

Antonio Merkle

Crypto expert, arbitrage trader and investor

Crypto expert and hands-on crypto arbitrage trader, investor and software developer with over 20 years of experience. On the P2P.Army blog he covers exchange news, P2P and cross-exchange arbitrage.

• Crypto arbitrage
• P2P arbitrage
• Cross-exchange arbitrage
• Crypto exchanges
• Investing
• Software development

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