The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Philippines has granted in-principle approval to Blockshoals Technologies, Inc. to test its financial products within the Commission’s regulatory sandbox.

The Commission En Banc made the decision at its meeting on November 12.

Blockshoals, a domestic fintech firm, operates as a technology and infrastructure intermediary for virtual asset services. To operationalise its application, the company has entered into a partnership with a global crypto exchange.

The approval allows Blockshoals to enter the SEC StratBox. It is a regulatory sandbox established under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 9, Series of 2024.

This framework permits firms to test innovative financial products and services in a live, controlled environment before potentially offering them to the wider public.

Blockshoals will conduct its testing for a scheduled period of 24 months. However, regulators may shorten or extend this duration after the first year, following periodic reviews.

During this period, the SEC may grant regulatory relief by modifying or replacing specific licensing, registration, or compliance requirements that would otherwise apply.

With this latest approval, the number of entities currently testing their services in the SEC StratBox has risen to four.

The other participants include two entities. One is focused on the offering of US equities, and one concerning the offering of tokenised real estate.

The Commission stated that it continues to review other applications and remains open to further proposals for the regulatory sandbox. It is part of its commitment to advancing capital market innovations.