Crypto Experts see Philippines as “role models” for play-to-earn concept

As blockchain games continue to spread, the Philippines has become a sort of “role model” for the play-to-earn concept in Southeast Asia.

According to the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the volume of cryptocurrency transactions has grown by 362% year-on-year in the first half of 2021. These transactions were then valued at roughly P105 billion as Filipinos looked to store and grow their wealth amidst the pandemic.

Although these digital assets lack regulation and taxation, Filipinos did not seem to mind as transactions would continue to grow throughout the pandemic. One of the most popular crypto activities in the Philippines was play-to-earn gaming, specifically the game Axie Infinity.

Axie saw major gains in the country as they report that almost 40% of their player base was found in the Philippines.

“I think one of the interesting phenomenon or trends, what is the growth of this? I’m pretty sure you have heard about the play-to-earn phenomenon that has grown in the Philippines has now become the role model for the play-to-earn concept,” Pang Xue Kai, co-founder of Indonesia-based cryptocurrency exchange Tokocrypto, said in an interview.

However, the game’s journey did not come easily; as its popularity and the growing digital economy prompted government crackdowns as managers worried over the potential of a new tax regime.

While its involvement in the economy is still new, Xue Kai believes that the Philippines sets the standard for how other countries should handle crypto. He has stated that other countries should emulate the Philippines’ “involvement of the banks or the involvement of the traditional financial services in crypto.”

“Naturally, the market cap grows and you know, as market capitalization grows and the industry matures, and you have more business peers inside your things like custodians inside,” he said.

Source: Philstar