The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a warning about eToro, an online trading platform. The advisory, made public on April 4, states that eToro isn’t authorized to sell securities in the Philippines.
In the SEC’s view, eToro does this without obtaining corporate registration or licensing, as per the Philippine Securities Regulation Code. Consequently, eToro isn’t permitted to run a securities exchange or sell securities.
In 2007, eToro appeared, initially winning huge popularity among millennials. Now, millions of users worldwide are using it. With a cash value of $3.5 billion, the business has offices in 140 countries.
eToro Spokesperson commented on the news that “eToro is regulated by financial regulatory authorities in multiple jurisdictions around the world and we take our legal and regulatory obligations very seriously. eToro has no local presence in the Philippines and we do not actively promote or market our services in the Philippines.”
The Philippines’ financial regulator states that investors who trade crypto assets through unauthorized eToro are likely to be exposed to high risks. The SEC has also provided information about what makes those in the Philippines involved with eToro face penalties as severe as 21 years of imprisonment and a fine of approximately 5 million pesos.
This announcement follows similar actions against other platforms, including a November 2023 advisory regarding Binance. It comes amidst efforts by the Philippine National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to block crypto websites operating without proper licenses.
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