Crypto thrives in the Philippines, Country sees a boom in Investment opportunities

Amidst the pandemic, cryptocurrency has seen a significant boom in value and attention as investors have flocked to the industry. Currently, it is estimated that over 4.3 million Filipino’s already own cryptocurrencies, this indicates that at least 4% of the population have invested in these digital assets. 

CEO and founder of Philippine Assets and Digital Exchange, Nichel Gaba, has said that the country has been incredibly accepting in regards to these assets. 

“Between December 2020 and today [Nov 2021], something happened to put bitcoin and crypto into a space where even traditional portfolio managers need to consider them. We are living in interesting times in crypto,” said Gaba. 

Due to the upwards trend of crypto, companies similar to Gaba’s have seen significant spikes in transactions and customers in less than a year. The population of Filipino’s that are invested in cryptocurrencies are mostly people in urban regions, wealthy professionals, and those who use blockchain technology. 

Domestic Fintech company, Globe Fintech Innovations, plans to develop a platform that will allow millions of Filipinos access to the crypto industry. Globe has partnered with Ant Financial Services in a joint venture known as Mynt. Following its latest fundraising round the company has been valued at over $2 billion. According to their CEO, Martha Sazon, the company is set to hit P3.5 trillion with of transactions by the end of this year. Sazon has stated that Mynt’s growth “hinges on making its electronic wallet, GCash, a gateway toward other services like [loans] and investments for the millions of Filipinos who are financially underserved.”

In an attempt to make the industry more credible to the general public, the BSP has launched new security frameworks to prevent crypto from being used for unsavory purposes. BSP’s director of Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision has said that crypto has revolutionized remittances and payments ‘while also opening new fundraising opportunities.’ According to OpenGov Asia, the speed at which crypto has gained traction is a clear indication that traditional institutions can no longer ‘hold the fort’ as they once did. 

Source: Open Gov Asia, Triple A, Filipino Wealth, MoneyMax