The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a public investor alert urging Filipinos not to invest in dYdX and six other crypto trading platforms because they are not registered or authorized to solicit investments in the country. In a Facebook post, the regulator identified dYdX, Aevo, gTrade, Pacifica, Orderly, Deriv and Ostium, saying its review suggests these platforms appear to be offering investments to the public with promised returns, profits or interest.
None of the named entities are registered with the SEC or authorized under the regulator’s crypto-asset service provider (CASP) framework. The CASP rules require firms offering crypto services in the Philippines to obtain licenses and comply with capital and operational requirements. The advisory also warned that people promoting any of these platforms in the Philippines could face criminal liability under the Securities Regulation Code. Under Sections 28 and 73, violators may be subject to fines of up to 5 million Philippine pesos, imprisonment for up to 21 years, or both.
The alert is part of a broader enforcement effort against unlicensed crypto operators. On December 24, 2025, Philippine regulators blocked access to Coinbase and Gemini as part of efforts to curb unregistered CASPs. Regulators previously moved to block Binance in 2024 after a compliance deadline lapsed and directed app stores to remove Binance’s app for users in the country. In August 2025 the SEC named 10 exchanges, including OKX, Bybit, KuCoin and Kraken, in an advisory that warned these platforms were operating without registration and exposing Filipino investors to risk.
At the same time, locally licensed firms have continued to expand crypto services. In 2025 PDAX partnered with Toku to enable stablecoin salary payouts, and digital bank GoTyme launched crypto services with Alpaca so customers can buy and hold digital assets within its app.
The SEC advisory highlights growing regulatory scrutiny in the Philippines and a shift from public warnings to access restrictions as authorities work to protect local investors from unregistered crypto services. Cointelegraph covered the SEC advisory and the related enforcement actions.