CZ Backs ASEAN Crypto Passporting, But the Philippines’ Own Pilot Still Needed Two Licenses

MakeCryippreferred on

In June, Binance-linked fintech firm BlockShoals Technologies cleared a Securities and Exchange Commission sandbox review in the Philippines. On paper, that should have opened the door to operating in one of Southeast Asia’s larger crypto markets. It didn’t, not fully. A second license, from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, was still needed before BlockShoals could move past testing, per the same coverage: two Philippine regulators, two separate approval processes, for a service built on Binance’s own technology infrastructure.

That gap is close to the exact friction Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao asked ASEAN regulators to close on July 28, when he backed a regional crypto license passporting proposal at the “One ASEAN, One Digital Economy” fireside chat during the ASEAN Tech Summit Manila 2026. The idea, raised by FinTech Alliance PH founding chair Lito Villanueva, would let a firm already licensed in one ASEAN market seek a simplified approval elsewhere rather than filing a new application from scratch. Zhao was explicit that regulators would keep the right to review applicants; the change he’s asking for is procedural, not a waiver of oversight.

Zhao’s stated rationale is worth weighing against Binance’s own position. The exchange has reportedly been working to expand its regional licensing footprint across Asia, though which markets it’s targeting hasn’t been fully disclosed. A lighter, faster approval path in ASEAN wouldn’t just serve the industry Zhao describes; it would serve that expansion directly. That’s not a reason to discount the proposal, but it’s the incentive underneath the political-problem framing, not just the framing itself, as Binance also faces separate legal challenges after UK investors sued Binance for £150M over alleged unauthorised crypto derivatives.

What exists, and what doesn’t

No ASEAN regulator or bloc-wide body has floated a formal passporting proposal, a consultation process, or a target date. Zhao’s remarks are an endorsement, not a policy already in motion. The region does have one precedent to build from: the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum’s Collective Investment Schemes framework, which lets a fund authorized in one member state seek streamlined approval in another. Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand launched it in 2014. The Philippines didn’t join until 2021: seven years to add one more country to a three-country arrangement. The ACMF separately runs a fast-track adviser registration under its Professional Mobility Framework.

The closer comparison sits outside the region. The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation grants an authorized crypto-asset service provider passporting rights across member states once it notifies its home regulator, according to reporting on the rule; we haven’t checked that against the regulation’s text ourselves. Binance’s own record under that system is telling. Passporting cuts repeat filings. It doesn’t remove the approval bar underneath them.

The event

Zhao’s appearance was billed by Villanueva in advance as his first public event in the Philippines. Zhao confirmed his in-person attendance the day before the summit. The two-day event drew delegates Villanueva put at more than 4,000, from over 30 countries; it was reportedly organized by FinTech Alliance PH. Zhao has also recently clarified that he does not own BNB Chain meme coins, including $CZ, $TCC, and $AB, in an unrelated statement.

What it would take

Which is the problem BlockShoals apparently already ran into: an SEC sandbox clearance that, by that same account, didn’t substitute for the BSP’s separate sign-off, even on Binance’s own infrastructure. A regional passport that speeds up market entry doesn’t automatically collapse that kind of internal, sector-specific licensing split. Binance’s own reported MiCA-deadline miss suggests passporting regimes don’t spare a company from missing one, and ASEAN’s own fund-passporting model took years to add a single new member.

ASEAN’s Digital Economy Framework Agreement is the nearest thing to a vehicle for this. Negotiations concluded in late May 2026, and the pact is targeted for signing at the 49th ASEAN Summit in November 2026. No published text confirms crypto passporting is part of it. Zhao’s Manila remarks are an opening position, not a settled outcome, one that lines up with Binance’s own interests as much as with the region’s.

FAQs

1. What is crypto license passporting?
A model where a firm licensed in one country could get a simplified approval process elsewhere, instead of filing a new application from scratch: the framing Zhao and Villanueva described at the summit.

2. Has ASEAN adopted this for crypto?
Not as far as available reporting shows: no ASEAN regulator or bloc-wide body has announced a formal proposal, consultation, or timetable.

3. Does something like this exist elsewhere?
The EU’s MiCA framework is reported to grant passporting rights to licensed crypto-asset service providers. ASEAN has a narrower, confirmed precedent in capital markets through the ACMF’s fund-passporting scheme.