MANILA - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked Google and Apple to remove the Binance app from their app marketplaces in the Philippines.

"In separate letters addressed to Google and Apple dated April 19, the SEC has requested for the removal of applications controlled by Binance.com from Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, respectively," the SEC said.

Binance was banned from operating in the Philippines last March, with the SEC saying it is not authorized to trade in securities in the Philippines.

Philippines blocks crypto giant Binance

“The SEC has identified [Binance] and concluded that the public’s continued access to these websites/apps poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said in the letter.

He said that the sale or offer of unregistered securities to Filipinos and operating as an unregistered broker constitutes a violation of Republic Act no. 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code.

Aquino said removing and blocking applications of Binance will “prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, and to protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy.”

Filipino investors with investments in Binance should immediately close their positions, or transfer their cryptocurrency holdings to their own crypto wallets or in accounts with cryptocurrency service providers that are duly registered in the Philippines, the SEC said.

Binance does not have an SEC license to solicit investments from the public, nor to create or operate an exchange for the buying and selling of securities, as required by law. the agency added.