Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou issued a new response, while company founder Ron Hose It has now also weighed in regarding BitPinas’ report detailing a capital gap of ₱2.5 billion ($44 million) and XRP shortfalls revealed in the company’s audit submitted to the SEC by December 31, 2023.
- While Zhou emphasized a capital injection to address the issues, the auditor, as noted in the audited financial statements (AFS), remained concerned about the company’s ability to continue as a “going concern.”
This follow-up includes reactions from Zhou, founder Ron Hose, and industry voices, fueling further debate.
Below are new developments that occurred after the story was published:
Writer’s statement
On Sunday, December 8, 2024, This writer posted on social media reporting attacks accusing this outlet of doing successful paid work (the article) and a request from a member of an organization to slow down coverage of Coins because it makes people afraid to try cryptocurrencies :
A version of this was also shared on LinkedIn.
Coins.ph CEO Response:
Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou responded to this writer’s tweets that he also shared on LinkedIn (where the writer also shared a version of the tweets). We quote the comment in LinkedIn for this article:
“I don’t know if it’s a blow or not, and it’s not for me to judge. I find it funny that you guys cherry-pick financial data to make things look terrible. And now he plays the victim because people criticize his coverage as “fear mongering”?
We had poor financial results in 2023, as did much of the industry, but we did things the right way and are now prosperous and financially strong.
My mission from day 1 is to offer the best crypto product to our users here in the Philippines and use cryptocurrencies to empower and enrich our users. I have been very transparent about what we are building, the challenges we face, the resources we have, and our shared vision for the future.
All customer cryptocurrency balances within Coins are fully backed up and audited; The gaps are only temporary differences at the time of the audit.
We stay the course and continue to build and use cryptocurrencies to financially empower people, not only here in the Philippines but around the world.
Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph
You have to tell the “truth” and take numbers and comments from an audit report of more than 60 people to sensationalize the coverage.
He did not report that the board and auditors addressed the deficit with a capital injection of 1.2 billion from the parent company. (Page 2, Notes to the Financial Statement).
I am available 24/7 for comments, but you never asked me to comment on the article. My team reached out to you with our statement after hearing rumors about the article.
The accumulated deficit of 2.5 billion is a VERY misleading headline! These are just Betur’s total losses since its founding, the capital deficit was 666 mm, which became positive with the already mentioned capital injection of 1.2 billion from the parent company.
Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph
Coins.ph founder weighs in
In a highly charged comment on this writer’s post, Ron Hose, the founder of Coins.ph, also shared his sentiment challenging the current CEO’s response:
I’m sorry Wei Z. / Coins.phHis response is a complete evasion.
They are not calling you out for making losses in 2023, they are calling you out for allegedly 1) having your auditors indicate “PERFORMING MATERIAL UNCERTAINTY” in your AFS, – AND. 2) having a ₱192 shortfall in XRP customer deposits that consumers They trusted him.
If these accusations are really true, they are very serious.
The fact that after an entire article on BitPin And this fancy post, where you still think you can shine a light on the entire crypto community here and pretend nothing is happening (instead of addressing the issue), should be a big red flag in itself for anyone still holding funds. with Coins.ph. (FD: I withdrew my balances a long time ago).
Side note: Honestly, it perplexes me that Central Bank of the Philippines has not yet intervened in this.
Ron Hose, founder of Coins.ph
Are customer shortfalls time problems?
One of Zhou’s main arguments is that the shortfall in cryptocurrency reserves is simply due to timing issues at the time of the audit. Elijah Tan, former Binance and Coins.ph executive, echoes this:
To which Ron Hose responded that the BSP requires 1:1 reservations:
BitPinas did not mention that Coins addressed the capital deficiency: FAKE
The CEO of Coins.ph said on Twitter:
Answer: Our article mentioned that Coins.ph addressed the capital deficiency. Here is a screenshot of the article:
Please note that BitPinas is summoning the auditor. The above is not the statement of BitPinas but the statement of the auditor.
- And finally, the auditor stated that even though Coins addressed the deficiency, the financial auditor said He didn’t change his opinion on the matter.“Going Concern” being the opinion of Betur Inc’s ability to continue.
BitPinas wrote a misleading headline: False
So Why didn’t BitPinas lead the article with Wei Zhou’s statement?
- We lead with the AFS because it is a true and public record, filed by Coins.ph to the SEC.
- Regarding Wei Zhou’s capital injection statement: the Coins team did not provide evidence of this.
- Furthermore, the financial auditor stated that This did not change his opinion.
Why didn’t BitPinas include the fact that Betur is just one of Coins.ph’s businesses?
- Betur Inc. is the authorized entity. Therefore, it is the one that is subject to the capitalization requirements of the BSP and, therefore, must also dispose of the client’s funds.
Final words from Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou just before this article is published:
In response to Ron Hose, Wei Zhou said in the comments section about LinkedIn:
“I welcome everyone to read the audit report in its entirety. It’s on the SEC website. All I’m saying is that the headlines are misleading. It placed a shitty financial performance in 2023 into “alarming” headlines about solvency. “It’s not right.”
Wei Zhou
In response to Rafael Padilla in the LinkedIn comments section, Wei Zhou said:
I prefer the public forum to yelling “look at me” on a pedestal. I didn’t say this is an adverse report. We had a shitty financial year in 2023 and that cannot be denied. What I am saying is that they portrayed misleading headlines by selectively selecting words and numbers from the audit report.
Wei Zhou
To which Atty. Padilla responded:
“I don’t think Bitpinas can be blamed if they rely on this public document as a credible source of information about what is happening within their company.
But if you think Bitpinas’ headline was in any way misleading, just post the AFS for free so people can make their own assessment as to whether this issue is serious or just FUD.”
Rafael Padilla
This is a developing story: Exclusive: Coins.ph CEO issues new response to capital gap and deficit issues as founder weighs in
