Buying Bitcoin in the Philippines: start with a BSP licence, then pick the app

Buying crypto in the Philippines in 2026 looks nothing like it did three years ago. Back then most people opened Binance and bought USDT over P2P with GCash. Today Binance has been blocked for more than two years, Bybit's app disappeared from the local Google Play Store in March 2026, and even Coinbase and Gemini went dark just before Christmas 2025. What is left is a group of local platforms holding licences from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. This guide answers one question: how to buy crypto in the Philippines legally and cheaply.

01Philippines crypto market passport

Here are the key facts on one card. Each line is explained, with sources, further down.

The Philippines ranks 9th in the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index. It peaked at 2nd in 2022, when the Axie Infinity play-to-earn boom put a crypto wallet on millions of phones. The market today is more mature and far more local: the money sits mostly in Coins.ph, PDAX and the two big e-wallets.

02BSP and SEC: who regulates crypto in the Philippines

Two regulators work in parallel. The BSP treats virtual asset service providers as money-service businesses under Circular 1108 (2021). Exchange, custody and transfer services need a licence, and the Travel Rule applies from PHP 50,000. Custodial VASPs reportedly need PHP 50 million in capital. Since September 2022 the BSP has issued no new VASP licences. A memo dated 20 August 2025 extended that moratorium from 1 September 2025, "subject to reassessment", and we found no sign of it being lifted by October 2026.

In June 2026 the BSP added token-listing guidelines (Memo M-2026-023): six assessment pillars, a ban on listing privacy coins, and mandatory delisting after events like hacks or stablecoin de-pegs.

The SEC covers the investment side: trading, offering and promoting crypto assets. SEC Memorandum Circulars No. 4 and No. 5 of 2025 took effect on 5 July 2025. A crypto-asset service provider must be a Philippine stock corporation with at least PHP 100 million in paid-up capital and at least four resident staff. The rule that matters most to ordinary readers: promoters and influencers of unregistered platforms must register too, and carry solidary liability, with fines from PHP 50,000 to PHP 10 million per violation. Coins.ph and PDAX hold BSP licences and are registered under the CASP rules.

According to BitPinas' summary of the BSP database (July 2026), the nine active VASPs are Coins.ph (Betur Inc.), PDAX, Maya, GoTyme Bank, UnionBank, DA5 / SurgePay, Moneybees Forex, TopWallet and WIBS / DO PAY. The first five are the ones most people will actually use.

03Blocked exchanges: Binance, Bybit and the "list of 50"

The clean-up of offshore exchanges came in waves, and each wave went further than the last.

Can you still use Binance in the Philippines?

Not in the normal way. If you had a Binance or Bybit account before the blocks and still hold funds there, the safest move is to follow the platform's official instructions to withdraw to your own wallet, or move the coins to a local licensed platform and sell. We do not publish ways around the blocks. Logging into a blocked platform through a VPN breaks its terms and leaves you with no local protection if anything goes wrong. For Binance's licence status in other countries, see our Binance review.

04Best crypto apps in the Philippines (2026 ranking)

We scored each platform on licensing, the cost of getting pesos in, spread transparency, app experience and coin range. The top four are on the BSP licence list. The last entry is an international platform, included so readers who want to buy with a card can see exactly what it is.

1. Best local all-rounder

   Coins.phBSP-licensed VASP · SEC CASP-registered

   The biggest crypto app in the country, with more than 16 million users and an e-money licence on top of its VASP licence. Cash-in via InstaPay and PESONet carries no platform fee, and an InstaPay cash-out costs just PHP 5. The simple Convert screen earns its money on the spread; Coins Pro is the cheaper way in, at 0.03–0.25% tiered. Coins.ph also issues the PHPC peso stablecoin.

   • InstaPay cash-in free
   • InstaPay cash-out PHP 5
   • 100+ assets vs PHP
   • Coins Pro 0.03–0.25%
   9.0/10

   Official site ↗
2. PDAXBSP-licensed since 2018 · SEC CASP-registered

   The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange has about 4 million users and is the engine behind GCash's GCrypto. Online bank transfers are free, and the order book suits people who like to place their own limit orders. E-wallet cash-in is expensive, though: about 2.90% from GCash and about 3% plus PHP 15 from Maya.

   • Bank cash-in free
   • About 0.40% maker / 0.50% taker
   • PESONet cash-out PHP 10
   • 50+ assets
   8.6/10

   Official site ↗
3. GCash · GCryptoInside GCash · powered by PDAX

   GCash has more than 90 million users, and GCrypto has been open to all of them since April 2023. It is the lowest-friction start: fully verified adults can buy as little as 1 USDT straight from their wallet balance. The trade-off is cost. Service and platform fees are embedded in the quote, so the spread is wider than trading on PDAX directly.

   • Tiny minimums
   • Fees built into price
   • Around 20+ coins
   • 18+, fully verified
   8.3/10

   Official site ↗
4. Maya CryptoBSP-licensed VASP (Maya Philippines)

   The crypto tab inside the Maya wallet, live since April 2022. It advertises "no transaction fees", lets you start from PHP 1 and passed 50 tokens after adding 18 more in March 2026. "No fees" is not the same as free: there is a spread in the price, and Maya does not publish how wide it is.

   • From PHP 1
   • 50+ tokens
   • Spread not disclosed
   • Same app as Maya bank
   8.0/10

   Official site ↗
5. International option · not PH-registered

   CEX.IOFounded 2013 · international

   A long-running international exchange where you can buy crypto with Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with USD, EUR and GBP as fiat currencies. The Philippines is not on its unsupported list, but CEX.IO is not licensed by the BSP and not registered with the Philippine SEC. Filipino customers are served by its international entity, so local investor protection does not apply. Consider it only when a local app cannot do what you need.

   • Spot 0.15% / 0.25%
   • Card fee 0.49–4.99% + service charge
   • No PHP deposits
   • New accounts $1,000/day for 3 months
   7.0/10

   Official site ↗ Read →

Fees as published in October 2026; platforms change them often, so check the official site. How we score: methodology.

Website, app and onboarding UX

These 1–5 ratings are our editorial judgement, based on each platform's published onboarding flow, fee pages and app design.

05How to buy crypto with GCash: two routes

"How to buy crypto in GCash" is one of the most common crypto searches in the country. There are two ways to do it. The difference is whether you'd rather tap a few more times or pay a little more.

Route A: GCrypto inside GCash

1. Get fully verified in GCash

   You must be 18 or older and complete Fully Verified status with a valid ID. Unverified accounts cannot use GCrypto.

2. Open GCrypto and activate it

   Find GCrypto in the GCash app and accept PDAX's terms. PDAX handles the trading and custody behind the scenes.

3. Buy from your wallet balance

   Choose Bitcoin, Ether or USDT and enter a peso amount. Service and platform fees are already in the quote, so compare it with PDAX's live price before you confirm.

4. Decide where to keep it

   Small amounts can stay in GCrypto. For larger balances, think about your own wallet. Sending out costs a network fee, so double-check the network and address.

Route B: InstaPay to Coins.ph or PDAX, then buy

Send pesos from GCash to Coins.ph via InstaPay (Coins.ph charges no cash-in fee, though GCash may charge its usual InstaPay fee), then trade on Coins Pro. Or bank-transfer to PDAX for free and use the order book. It takes two extra steps, but on amounts of tens of thousands of pesos the spread you save is usually bigger than the transfer fee.

The takeaway is simple. Funding PDAX from an e-wallet costs you about 3% before you have bought anything. If you have a bank account, use online banking or InstaPay.

06Peso deposits and withdrawals: InstaPay, PESONet and e-wallets

Payments in the Philippines revolve around e-wallets. InstaPay is the real-time interbank rail, capped at about PHP 50,000 per transfer and ideal for everyday purchases. PESONet settles in batches, so it is slower but handles larger sums. GCash and Maya reach almost every smartphone user, and over-the-counter cash-in works at 7-Eleven, Cebuana, Palawan and M Lhuillier.

Take Coins.ph as an example. Cash-in via InstaPay or PESONet has no platform fee. Cash-out costs PHP 5 via InstaPay and nothing via PESONet for individuals, while picking up cash at a remittance centre costs PHP 105 under PHP 10,000 and 1.6% above. PDAX charges PHP 15 for InstaPay withdrawals and PHP 10 for PESONet. Under Circular 1108, VASP payouts above PHP 500,000 must go by check or direct bank transfer.

And P2P? Binance P2P used to be the biggest peso P2P market. With the platform blocked, what remains is mostly OTC trading in Telegram groups, which has no escrow and a real chance of receiving tainted funds. Our P2P crypto guide explains the risks. To turn coins back into pesos, see how to cash out crypto, and for local payment rails across Asia see crypto payment methods.

07OFW remittances and the PHPC peso stablecoin

The Philippines is one of the world's largest remittance recipients. BSP data show cash remittances through banks hit a record US$35.63 billion in 2025 (+3.3%). Personal remittances reached US$39.62 billion, about 7.3% of GDP, and the United States was the top source at 39.7%.

That is why remittances are the crypto industry's favourite Philippine story: sending USDT, USDC or a peso stablecoin home can be faster and cheaper than a traditional transfer.

PHPC is Coins.ph's peso stablecoin: pegged 1:1 to the peso, backed by bank deposits and issued on the Ronin network. It entered the BSP regulatory sandbox in May 2024, exited in 2025 (redemption was finalised on 5 July) and then received higher minting capacity. For overseas Filipino workers, that means a stablecoin can be swapped into pesos inside a regulated framework.

One caution from us: stablecoin remittances only work if the family member receiving them can use a wallet and knows how to convert on a licensed platform such as Coins.ph. If they don't, a traditional remittance or a GCash international transfer is still less stressful. Coins sent on the wrong network or to the wrong address are almost never recovered.

08Crypto tax in the Philippines

The Philippines has no crypto-specific tax law. The Bureau of Internal Revenue generally treats trading gains as ordinary income, taxed at graduated rates from 0% to 35%. Qualifying self-employed people can choose the 8% option instead. You declare on the annual income tax return (Form 1700, 1701 or 1701A), due 15 April, and FIFO costing is generally accepted.

Taxable events usually include selling for pesos, crypto-to-crypto trades, staking rewards, mining and NFT income. The "15% capital gains tax on crypto" you may see online comes from the 2025 CMEPA law (RA 12214), but that rate covers unlisted shares, not crypto. The Philippines has also committed to the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) by 2027, after which platforms reporting user data to the tax authority will become routine. Situations differ, so speak to a licensed tax adviser. For a country-by-country comparison, see our crypto tax guide for Asia.

09Scams and wallets: what Filipino users should watch

The SEC regularly publishes advisories on unregistered platforms and crypto-branded "investment" schemes. Most scams arrive through Facebook and Telegram: "guaranteed return" investment groups, fake support agents asking for your OTP, and the "pig-butchering" romance scams linked to scam compounds. Two rules cover most of it. Be wary of anything promising a fixed return, and remember that anyone asking for your seed phrase is a scammer. The BSP's own advice is just as plain: only invest what you can afford to lose.

Most Filipino retail users keep coins in the custodial wallets of GCash, Maya or Coins.ph. If you played Axie, you probably already have a Ronin Wallet (PHPC lives on Ronin too), and MetaMask and Trust Wallet are common as well. Once balances grow, a hardware wallet is worth considering. See our crypto wallet guide and security basics, and for platform failure risk, exchange safety and licences.

Rules elsewhere in Southeast Asia differ a lot. Indonesia's OJK supervises a crowded field of local exchanges, Thailand offers tax relief for trades on licensed platforms, and Vietnam's licensed exchanges have not opened yet. Read on in our guides to buying crypto in Indonesia and Thailand, the crypto rules in Vietnam, or go back to the country overview.

FAQ

Sources

• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas — VASP regulation (Circular 1108) · checked Oct 2026
• Securities and Exchange Commission Philippines — CASP rules and advisories · checked Oct 2026
• Coins.ph Help Centre — cash-in and cash-out fees · updated Jul 2026
• PDAX — fees · checked Oct 2026
• Chainalysis — 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index · Sep 2025

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