Crypto exchange reviews for the Philippines: nine platforms, one method

Reviewed by the Crypto Philippines Editorial TeamUpdated September 28, 2026 · 6 min read

Our crypto exchange reviews for the Philippines cover nine platforms: eight that are BSP-licensed or run on a BSP-licensed provider, and one global exchange. Each gets a score out of 10, a plain statement of its licence status, and a look at real costs, limits and who it suits. Start with the table, then open the review that matches how you want to pay.

How we review exchanges

Every review follows the same steps. We check whether the company is on the BSP list of licensed VASPs, whether the SEC or NTC has named it, and what it publishes about fees, spreads, limits and coins. Then we score it on five weighted criteria: licence status (30%), real cost including spread (25%), peso payment options (20%), coin choice and security (15%) and support (10%). The full weights and data sources are on our how we rate page.

Two points about honesty. Our reviews rest on published fee pages, help centres and regulator lists, checked on the dates shown on each page. We do not claim hands-on testing we did not do, and when a platform does not publish a number, such as a spread, we write that it is not published instead of guessing. And CEX.IO is our commercial partner, so we may earn a commission from links to it. The score it gets is computed like every other, and the review states what it lacks, namely a Philippine licence and peso rails.

The nine platforms compared

Read the score alongside the status column. CEX.IO leads because of card payments, fees and coin choice, yet it is the only one of the nine without a Philippine licence. On the licensed side, PDAX and GCash GCrypto are strongest for peso deposits and withdrawals. Maya is best for tiny amounts, and Moneybees, UnionBank and GoTyme suit specific situations such as cash counters or bank-grade access. DOPAY and TopWallet score lowest because there is little public information to verify.

All nine reviews

Pick the platform you are considering.

What “licensed” means, and why it comes first

In the Philippines, a company that swaps pesos for crypto needs a virtual asset service provider licence from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. As of 15 July 2026 nine entities held one, and the BSP has frozen new licences indefinitely, so the list will not grow soon. Separately, since 5 July 2025 the SEC requires platforms that market to Filipinos to register as crypto-asset service providers. Our page on licensed crypto exchanges lists the roster and the platforms that were flagged or blocked, and the regulations guide explains the rules in plain language.

Why weight it at 30%? Because licence status decides what happens when something goes wrong. With a licensed provider you can escalate to a regulator, and the company must follow anti-money-laundering and customer-protection rules. With an unregistered offshore platform you usually have no local recourse. A licence does not protect you from price drops or from scams that trick you into sending coins away. It tells you who is accountable.

How to choose a platform

Start with the job you need done. If you just want to try crypto with pesos, an app inside a wallet you already use is the simplest route, and our guide to buying Bitcoin in the Philippines walks through it. If you plan to trade more often or move larger amounts, compare trading fees and cash-out costs on a licensed exchange, and use our fees and spreads guide to see the real cost. If you want to pay by card or need a coin the local apps do not list, a global option can make sense, provided you accept that it sits outside Philippine protection and plan your peso cash-out on a licensed app.

The best crypto exchanges in the Philippines page ranks all of them side by side if you want a single table. Whatever you pick, start small, test a withdrawal before a large transfer, and keep records of dates and peso values for tax.