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Buy crypto in the Philippines, without the guesswork
We compared the apps and exchanges Filipinos actually use, checked every one against the BSP and SEC lists, and mapped the fastest route for cash, GCash, cards and USDT. Pick how you’ll pay and start in minutes.
Best crypto exchanges in the Philippines
Scores weigh licence status (30%), real cost including spread (25%), peso payment options (20%), coin choice and security (15%) and support (10%). See how we rate.
- 01 CEX.IO cex.io FinCEN MSB (US), Bank of SpainCard buyers & wide coin choice Global exchange since 2013. No PHP wallet or GCash; not BSP-licensed.FeesSpot 0.25% → 0.10%; card Instant Buy from 0.49%
PaymentsVisa/Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller, crypto · 300+ coins8.9/10 - 02 PDAX pdax.ph BSP VASPOrder book & OTC (PDAX Prime) Also powers GCrypto inside GCash.FeesCash-out InstaPay ₱15, PESONet ₱10
PaymentsInstaPay, PESONet, GCash, Maya, GrabPay · 73 coins8.6/10 - 03 GCash GCrypto gcash.com Powered by PDAX (BSP VASP)Easiest for beginners ₱100k/day top-up limit for fully verified users.FeesFree top-up/withdraw; spread built into price
PaymentsGCash wallet · ~45 coins8.4/10 - 04 Maya maya.ph BSP VASPTiny amounts, from ₱1 Supports sending and receiving to external wallets.Fees“No transaction fees”; spread in price
PaymentsMaya wallet · 33 coins8.1/10 - 05 GoTyme Go Crypto gotyme.com.ph BSP bank VASPCrypto inside a bank app Closed loop: no transfers to external wallets.FeesSpread + transaction fee (not published)
PaymentsGoTyme account · 12 coins7.6/10 - 06 UnionBank Crypto unionbankph.com BSP bank VASPBank-grade custody Requires a Client Suitability Assessment.Fees“No added fees”; spread in price
PaymentsUnionBank account · BTC+ coins7.3/10 - 07 Moneybees moneybees.ph BSP VASPCash at walk-in counters Daily limit ₱200k to ₱5M+ by KYC level.Fees“No additional fees”; spread in rate
PaymentsCash and bank at branches · BTC, ETH, USDT+ coins7.2/10 - 08 DOPAY dopay.ph BSP VASP (WIBS PHP)Alternative e-wallet Small user base; read the fee table in-app.FeesNot yet verified by us
PaymentsDOPAY wallet · 20+ coins6.6/10 - 09 TopWallet topwallet.ph BSP VASP + EMI (TopJuan)Bills, load and crypto in one app New, small player; limited public information.FeesNot yet verified by us
PaymentsTopWallet, QR Ph6.2/10
Fees and limits are taken from each platform’s official fee and help pages on 28 September 2026. Links open the official websites. Status labels: “BSP VASP” means the firm is on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas list of licensed virtual asset service providers.
What each platform is actually good at
A ranking only tells you so much. The right app depends on how you get paid, how much you plan to buy and whether you need to cash out to GCash, a bank or a pawnshop. Here is the honest version, one platform at a time.
1. CEX.IO, the global option for card buyers
CEX.IO is not a Philippine company and it does not hold a BSP licence, so it plays a different role from the local apps. It has operated since 2013, is registered as a Money Services Business with FinCEN in the United States, holds US state money transmitter licences and is registered as a virtual asset provider with the Bank of Spain. For a Filipino user, the appeal is simple: you can buy with a Visa or Mastercard issued by a local bank, choose from more than 300 coins, and trade on a spot market that charges 0.25% falling to 0.10% at higher volumes. What it does not do is PHP: there is no peso wallet, no GCash and no InstaPay, so it works best alongside a local app you use to cash out.
Open account2. PDAX, a local exchange with a serious OTC desk
The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange is BSP-licensed, has its office in Ortigas and quietly powers GCrypto inside GCash. On its own app you get about 73 coins, peso deposits via InstaPay, PESONet and several e-wallets, and cash-out for ₱15 by InstaPay or ₱10 by PESONet. Topping up from GCash costs about 2.9%, so a bank transfer is the cheaper way in. Its real strength is PDAX Prime, an OTC service for trades from ₱1 million that settles through RTGS.
3. GCash GCrypto, the easiest first purchase
If you already have GCash, and with 94 million registered accounts most Filipinos do, GCrypto is the lowest-friction way to own your first satoshi. Open GInvest, tap GCrypto, and you can buy about 45 assets with money already in your wallet. Moving pesos between GCash and GCrypto is free, but the spread is built into the price and GCash doesn’t publish it. Fully verified users can top up ₱100,000 a day.
4. Maya, from ₱1 and able to send out
Maya runs its own BSP-licensed VASP and lets you buy from just ₱1, which is ideal for experimenting. The list is shorter, around 33 tokens, but it covers the majors plus popular names like SOL, XRP and PEPE. Maya now supports sending and receiving crypto to outside wallets, which makes it more useful than it was in 2022. Like GCash, it advertises “no transaction fees” and charges through the spread.
5–9. GoTyme, UnionBank, Moneybees, DOPAY and TopWallet
GoTyme Bank added Go Crypto in late 2025 with 12 coins, but it is a closed loop: you can’t withdraw coins to an outside wallet. UnionBank lets account holders buy crypto after a suitability assessment, with the comfort of a universal bank holding custody. Moneybees is the one to know if you want to pay cash over a counter: it runs staffed outlets in malls such as Glorietta, Trinoma and Market! Market!, with daily limits from ₱200,000 to over ₱5 million depending on your ID level. DOPAY and TopWallet are smaller licensed e-wallets; both are legitimate, but public information on their fees is thin, so check the in-app fee table before you trade.
Only firms on the BSP list may exchange pesos for crypto in the Philippines. Global exchanges can still be useful for card purchases and coin choice, but you should know they sit outside the BSP’s supervision.
How to buy crypto in the Philippines in four steps
Whatever app you choose, the process follows the same rhythm. The first purchase takes 10 to 20 minutes, most of it spent on ID verification. After that, buying is a matter of seconds.
- Pick a platform that fits how you pay
GCash or Maya if your money is already there, Coins.ph or PDAX for bank transfers, a global exchange if you want to use a card.
- Verify your identity
Have a valid government ID ready (PhilSys National ID, passport, driver’s licence or UMID) and take a selfie. Basic accounts on most apps can’t withdraw crypto.
- Add pesos or card details
InstaPay is instant and capped at ₱50,000 per transfer; PESONet has no scheme cap but settles in batches. Cards are instant but cost more.
- Buy, then decide where to keep it
Leave small amounts in the app. For larger holdings, learn to move coins to a wallet you control and always test with a small transfer first.
| Method | Speed | Typical cost | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCash / Maya | Instant | Spread in price | First buys, small amounts |
| InstaPay to exchange | Instant | Often free | Up to ₱50k per transfer |
| PESONet | Same or next day | Often free | Larger peso deposits |
| Visa / Mastercard | Instant | From 0.49% + charge | Global coin choice |
| Cash at counter | Same day | Spread in rate | No bank account |
| OTC desk | T+1 | Negotiated | ₱1M and above |
Bank transfer fees follow the BSP’s summary of transfer fees; most big banks made InstaPay and PESONet free in mid-2026.
Is crypto legal in the Philippines? Yes, with a catch
Owning crypto is legal and has been since the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas first set rules for virtual currency exchanges in 2017. The catch is on the business side. The BSP licenses the firms that exchange pesos for crypto, and it has not accepted new applicants since September 2022; in August 2025 it extended that freeze indefinitely. So the list of licensed providers is short and unlikely to grow soon.
The SEC joined in with its Crypto-Asset Service Provider Rules, in force since 5 July 2025. They require a Philippine company, at least ₱100 million in paid-up capital and a local office. On 1 August 2025 it named ten offshore exchanges that were serving Filipinos without registration, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, Kraken and MEXC among them, and more followed. In December 2025 the NTC told internet providers to block 50 unlicensed platforms flagged by the BSP; Coinbase and Gemini stopped loading shortly after.
For you, the practical rule is simple: keep your pesos and your cash-out route on a BSP-listed platform, and check the official VASP list before trusting a new app.
Bitcoin ATMs are rare. Cash isn’t.
Search for a Bitcoin ATM in Manila and you’ll find old listings and closed machines. The Philippines once had a small handful, including a two-way unit in Makati and a UnionBank machine for its own account holders, but no operator has confirmed a working one in recent years, and new machines would need a VASP licence the BSP isn’t issuing.
That doesn’t mean cash is out. You can walk into a Moneybees counter with pesos and a valid ID, cash in to Coins.ph at a partner pawnshop for ₱25, or load GCash at hundreds of thousands of stores and buy from there. Going the other way, you can sell on Coins.ph and pick up cash at a remittance centre, or send pesos to GCash and withdraw at an outlet.
Where to buy crypto in your city
Every city has a different mix of counters, pawnshops, bank branches and exchange offices. Our local guides show what is really available, street by street.
Five things to check before you pick an exchange
1. Is it on the BSP list? This single check filters out most of the risk. A BSP-licensed provider has to follow anti-money-laundering rules, keep customer funds separate and answer to a regulator you can complain to. If an app isn’t on the list, treat it as offshore and assume you have little recourse if something goes wrong.
2. What does it really cost? “Zero fees” is rarely zero. GCash, Maya and the Convert screens of most apps earn through the spread, the gap between the price you buy at and the price you could sell at. On a volatile coin that spread can be 1% to 2% or more, which dwarfs a 0.15% trading fee. Compare the buy and sell price side by side before you commit. Our fees and spreads guide shows how.
3. How will you cash out? Buying is the easy part. Before you buy, make sure you know how the money comes back: InstaPay to your bank, a transfer to GCash, or a pawnshop pickup. Check the per-transaction caps, because InstaPay tops out at ₱50,000 per transfer and some remittance centres cap cash pickups much lower.
4. What are the verification limits? A basic Coins.ph account can deposit ₱10,000 a day but can’t send or receive crypto at all. Full verification with an ID and selfie lifts that to ₱1 million a day. If you expect larger amounts, finish the enhanced verification early instead of in the middle of a trade.
5. Who do you call when it breaks? Local apps have Filipino support teams, physical offices in BGC, Ortigas or Mandaluyong, and a regulator above them. Global exchanges usually offer chat and email only. Neither is automatically better, but it’s worth knowing which you’re choosing.
It isn’t exchange hacks. It’s scams: “investment mentors” on Telegram, fake exchange apps and people asking to borrow your verified account. Read our crypto scams guide before you send money to anyone you met online.
Everything you need, in one place
From your first ₱60 of Bitcoin to a ₱5 million OTC trade, each guide focuses on one question and answers it properly.
Crypto in the Philippines: the bigger picture
The Philippines is one of the most crypto-curious countries in the world. Chainalysis ranked it 2nd in its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, when play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity were at their peak, and it still sat 9th in 2025. What changed is why people use it. The gaming boom faded; what stayed are stablecoins, remittances and long-term savings in Bitcoin.
Remittances explain a lot. Filipinos abroad sent home about US$35.6 billion through banks and money transfer firms in 2025, according to the BSP. A growing share of freelancers and OFWs now get paid in USDT or USDC, send it to a local app and convert it to pesos in minutes. On a licensed order book like Coins.ph, the USDT/PHP spread can be a fraction of a percent, far cheaper than many traditional corridors.
E-wallets are the other half of the story. GCash reports 94 million registered accounts and Maya is not far behind, so for millions of people the first crypto they ever buy sits one tap away from their bills and load. The local peso stablecoin PHPC, issued by Coins.ph, left the BSP’s regulatory sandbox in 2025, and banks are experimenting with their own. It is a market that moves fast, which is why we date every figure on this site and recheck the regulator lists every month.
Our job is to make that market easier to navigate. We don’t run an exchange and we don’t hold your money. We read the fee pages, the BSP circulars and the SEC advisories so you don’t have to, and we tell you plainly when something can’t be verified.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best crypto exchange in the Philippines?
Our ranking puts CEX.IO first for people who want to pay by card and choose from 300+ coins, with one caveat: it is a global exchange, not licensed by the BSP, and it has no peso rails (no GCash, no InstaPay). If you want to deposit and withdraw pesos through a locally licensed provider, PDAX and GCash GCrypto are the closest matches, and GCrypto is the easiest for beginners.
Is it legal to buy crypto in the Philippines?
Yes. Buying and holding crypto is legal. What the rules control is who may offer the service: exchanges that swap pesos for crypto need a BSP VASP licence, and since July 2025 platforms marketing to Filipinos must also register with the SEC under its CASP Rules. Using an app on the BSP list keeps you on the safest side of those rules.
What is the quickest way to buy crypto in the Philippines?
If your GCash or Maya account is fully verified, you can buy inside the app in about five minutes. If you prefer a card, a global exchange lets you buy with Visa or Mastercard right after ID verification, usually within 10 to 15 minutes. Cash routes take longer because you have to visit a counter or pawnshop first.
How much money do I need to start?
Very little. Maya lets you buy from ₱1, GCrypto from 1 USDT, and most other apps from around ₱60 to ₱100. Starting small is sensible: it lets you learn how sending, fees and cash-out work before you put in serious money.
Can I still use Binance in the Philippines?
Binance has no BSP licence. The SEC warned the public about it in 2023 and the NTC ordered it blocked in March 2024. A local partner, BlockShoals, has been testing a system in the SEC’s sandbox since April 2026, but the SEC says public onboarding is not allowed. We do not recommend it until that changes.
Are there Bitcoin ATMs in the Philippines?
Almost none that you can rely on. Only a handful of machines were ever documented, mostly in Makati and Ortigas, and no operator has confirmed a working machine in recent years. Walk-in counters such as Moneybees and pawnshop or e-wallet cash-in are the practical cash routes today.
Do I pay tax on crypto in the Philippines?
The BIR has not issued crypto-specific rules, but general income tax principles still apply to gains, especially if you trade as a business. Keep a record of every buy, sell and transfer with dates and peso values, and talk to a tax professional if your volumes are significant.