Cryptocurrencies, E-Wallets, and Virtual Cash as Redefining the Future

Since its first inception back in 2008 through Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and digital money have evolved and have become a reliable method for transferring money. 

The cryptocurrency market has been exponentially growing online, with the Philippines very much included. In fact, the Philippines is known to be one of the countries to have quickly adopted cryptocurrency. 

Last 2021 proved to be a pivotal and groundbreaking year for the crypto world. Last year, Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency coin to date, hit an all-time high record of $1 trillion in market value. One bitcoin was equivalent to over $68,000 at its peak last year. 

The ease, convenience, and speed of cryptocurrency have made itself one of the popular choices for payments and transference of money. 

In the times before cryptocurrencies and digital wallets, if an individual needed to send money overseas, a wire transfer or money padala would cost money and take more time. 

With cryptocurrency, you remove barriers and the unnecessary third parties from the process. It’s cheaper, faster, and instant with a press of a button. 

A current estimate by Triple-A shows that around 4.3 million Filipino citizens hold cryptocurrency. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) noted that in the first six months of 2021, cryptocurrency transactions in the Philippines went up 362%. 

It’s not just cryptocurrency making its stake in the Philippine market, but also E-wallets or digital wallets such as Gcash. At the beginning of the pandemic, contactless payment boomed. Gcash was adopted by businesses and establishments and became a primary mode of payment and a lifeline. 

In 2020, GCash noted ₱1.2 trillion in transactions and this grew to ₱3.8 trillion in 2021. 

GCash President and Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Martha M. Sazon has said “with the growing portfolio of relevant products, as far as GCash is concerned, we see that adoption will continue to grow among Filipinos,”

She also added “we see that the behavior formed during the lockdown is sustained even as the economy opens up,”

Pandemic restrictions may be easing up, but Filipinos have had a taste of the convenience of having contactless transactions all on your smart device and it doesn’t look like we’ll be going back anytime soon.

If anything, the number of users for cryptocurrencies and digital wallets will keep growing. Digitization of money in the Philippines has started and it’s here to stay. 

Sources: Business World, Globe, Business World