[L-R] Arlone Abello (Coach Miranda Miner), CEO of Global Miranda Miner Group; Patrick Lao, Head of Retail at PDAX; John Garcia, Head of Strategic and Market Education Ventures at GCash; and Alden Yburan, Head of GCrypto, at The Crypto Roundtable
Regulation can make a market safer, but it cannot make the people in it better investors. That is the central argument from Global Miranda Miner Group (GMMG) as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) moves to tighten its rules on crypto, and it is one worth examining closely.
The BSP’s draft circular, released for consultation earlier in September, would suspend new registrations of Operators of Payment Systems (OPS) for 12 months while the central bank reviews its licensing framework. It would also require payment firms to deal with regulated virtual asset service providers (VASPs) only through direct arrangements, with enhanced due diligence, monitoring, and transaction and settlement limits. At The Crypto Roundtable on 30 September 2026, GMMG CEO Arlone Abello said the community supports stronger accountability and traceability and sees the proposal as a sign that the Philippine crypto market is maturing.
Abello, who is also Founding Chairman of the Innovative Movement of the Philippine Association of Crypto Traders (IMPACT), framed this as growth rather than restriction. “A pause on new licenses and closer controls on virtual asset service providers are not a step back for crypto. They are what happens when an industry grows up,” Abello said. “When every payment can be traced to a real business, users, banks and partners can deal with crypto platforms with the same confidence they have in any other financial service. That is how the industry earns its place in mainstream finance. Our job now is to make sure users mature at the same pace.”
The second half of his argument is where the debate becomes more interesting. Abello noted that regulation can strengthen safeguards, but it cannot by itself make people better investors. Without stronger financial literacy, market participants may still face losses even in a regulated market. Education, in this view, is not an optional extra. It is an important complement to regulatory oversight.
The Crypto Roundtable brings together industry leaders and participants to discuss market literacy and the Philippine digital asset market
The data supports the concern. About 10% of Filipinos now use crypto, and users are projected to reach nearly 12.8 million this year. Much of this adoption comes from demand for digital-first financial services in a country where about 76% of the population is unbanked or underbanked, and for many new users crypto is one of their first experiences of investing. Market conditions are also shifting, with total crypto market value back above US3trillionandopeninterestinperpetualfuturesnearUS160 billion, a sign that traders are taking on more leverage.
Whether education can keep pace with participation is the open question. GMMG, a company registered and incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Philippines, said it will continue working with industry partners and regulators to expand education in technical analysis, risk management, market behavior and disciplined trading. The next edition of The Crypto Roundtable will be held in November 2026, with announcements at globalmirandaminer.com.