Philippine SEC Opens Door to Tokenized Real-World Assets

At Philippine Blockchain Week 2026, Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Rogelio Quevedo told attendees the regulator is prepared to accept tokenization of real-world assets and has the legal and regulatory foundations needed to oversee such offerings.

Quevedo said the technology could spur innovation in the country’s capital markets and change how exchanges operate. He called the regulator ‘now fully convinced that we have the proper law [and] the proper regulatory mind and background’ to allow tokenized offerings inside a supervised framework.

He described tokenization as a way to broaden investor access and modernize market infrastructure. Quevedo pointed to overseas Filipino workers as one group that could benefit, noting they often seek higher returns and can be targeted by fraudulent schemes. ‘Our OFWs, they have the capital. They do not know where to place their money. They do not know how to make their money earn,’ he said.

Quevedo outlined enforcement measures the commission is using to address illegal offerings. He noted the SEC is applying artificial intelligence to detect and pursue scams and is working with online platforms to remove unregistered or fraudulent listings.

The SEC is testing tokenization under its Strategic Sandbox, or StratBox, which lets fintech firms trial products and business models in a live but supervised setting. The sandbox framework allows the regulator, within its legal authority, to waive or modify certain regulatory requirements for individual participants, while making clear that firms remain subject to existing laws and may not use the sandbox to evade legal obligations.

In November 2025 the SEC admitted four companies into StratBox. One participant is testing a tokenized real estate offering, two are trialing access to United States equities for local investors, and BlockShoals Technologies received in-principle approval to test crypto-related products and services. These pilots are intended to give the regulator practical experience overseeing tokenized instruments and cross-border market access.

Tokenization converts physical or financial assets into digital tokens recorded on a blockchain. The process can increase liquidity and allow investors to buy fractions of assets. Regulators must address legal clarity, custody arrangements, market integrity and consumer safeguards before wider adoption.

Quevedo emphasized that any regulatory adjustments will be applied within the scope of current law and supervision, with the sandbox providing a controlled environment to observe risks and outcomes. He said the SEC will continue enforcement actions against unregistered investment schemes while expanding tools to supervise emerging financial technologies.