Philippines is planning to regulate bitcoin operators and exchanges to bolster cyber security systems of banks and financial institutions in the country, according to Central Bank of Philippines deputy governor Nestor Espenilla. He said the central bank has a core IT supervision group and within that group the bank has created a new division that is focused on cyber security issues to strengthen capacity to deal with cyber frauds. He said the special security team will investigate bitcoin operators to discourage money laundering. The central bank is looking whether is it now time to impose hard regulations for virtual currency operators, he said. In 2014, the central bank had issued a warning explaining the risks of using bitcoin and other virtual currencies. It said that such exchanges are not regulated by the central bank or by any regulatory authority in the country.
