Coins.ph
Coins.ph
Coins.ph is the leading Philippine crypto wallet and exchange, as well as an e-wallet super-app for payments, top-ups and remittances. It is among the first crypto companies in Asia to hold both a virtual-currency license and an electronic-money-issuer license from the central bank (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), plus an Advanced EPFS license to operate the Coins Pro exchange. It custodies user funds with measures such as cold storage and encryption. Founded in 2014, it has over 18 million users; it was acquired in 2022 by Wei Zhou (former Binance CFO) and Joffre Capital.
Data & conditions
| Service type | Stablecoin infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Not disclosed |
| Customer type | Fintech, Platforms |
| Fund custody | Custodial (platform holds funds) |
| KYC | Full |
| Supported countries | APAC |
| Regulator | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) |
| Segment | B2C |
| MiCA / License status | BSP VASPBSP EMIBSP EPFS BSP licenses: VASP · EMI · Advanced EPFS |
Strengths
- Strong BSP regulatory coverage: VASP, EMI and Advanced EPFS licenses from the Philippine central bank.
- Mass adoption in the local market: over 18 million users, with use cases from remittances to payments and crypto.
- No notable sovereignty advantage documented.
Weaknesses
- Service focused on the Philippines: not available to Italian/EU users.
- Custodial model: funds are held by the platform (with cold storage), not self-custodied.
- Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
- Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
- Subject to regulation (BSP licenses: VASP · EMI · Advanced EPFS): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.
Verdict
Score 4.0/5, very strong profile. In its favour: strong BSP regulatory coverage: VASP, EMI and Advanced EPFS licenses from the Philippine central bank. The trade-off to weigh: service focused on the Philippines: not available to Italian/EU users.
On the Sovereignty lens the score is 0.4/5 (weak): the strength is censorship resistance (1.5/5), while fund control (0.0/5) is the weak link.
Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.
"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.
FAQ
Is Coins.ph available in Italy?
No. Coins.ph is focused on the Philippine market and regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; it is not intended for users in Italy or the EU.
Does Coins.ph custody user funds?
Yes. It is a custodial platform: it holds user funds with security measures such as cold storage and encryption, under BSP supervision.
Sources
- Official service page Descrizione Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- bitpinas.com EMI Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- coindesk.com Data verified on Jul 17, 2026
- tracxn.com Utenti Data verified on Jul 17, 2026