Overview
- The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission granted final Stratbox approval for BlockShoals to start regulated testing of crypto financial products and services on Thursday, July 2, 2026.
- The SEC required BlockShoals to complete a 90‑day systems integration with a licensed domestic virtual asset service provider before any sandbox testing or user onboarding through Binance may proceed.
- The SEC approval names Binance as BlockShoals’ global crypto‑asset service provider partner and allows a crypto‑asset intermediary model where Philippine users access selected products via Binance infrastructure.
- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has said that the SEC sandbox permission does not replace a central bank VASP license and confirmed neither Binance nor BlockShoals currently holds the BSP VASP authorization needed for full payment and transaction services.
- The Stratbox move signals Binance’s regulatory re‑entry strategy of partnering with local licensees to pilot services under supervision, and regulators and users should watch for the outcome of the 90‑day integration and any separate BSP licensing steps that will determine when full operations can begin.