Blockchain in the Philippines

There’s good reason for XONIO’s first target country to be the Philippines. Not only our team is extremely well connected within the Filipino landscape in commercial as well as institutional ways, but the market is ripe with interest and moving forward quickly in terms of adoption.

Companies

Several players in the cryptocurrency market have set up shop for basic services: fiat to bitcoin and remittance services, with different degrees of success.

Most of these services require exchange licenses to operate, which requires governmental approval, leading to crucial, and slow processes that can make any of these projects stagnant for months or even years.

The crypto community is growing in many ways, and more traditional financial institutions are embracing it as well, something that surprised many while discussing this over at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam early this year.

Regulators

Governments need to keep track of their money, and thus the timelines for exchanges, the most prevalent current use for companies, are set… sort of. With the boom of crypto last year, many applications for exchange licenses were submitted to the BSP, and very few have been issued, with plans to limit them to 25, at least for their newly created economic zone.

These strides showcase two fundamental aspects of the “Crypto State of the Nation”

1. There is tremendous interest in adopting technology in the country, and the financial landscape for regulatory entities is embracing this opportunity for growth.

2. Despite this, some of these processes seem uncertain, and red-tape could confine many of these projects into a perceived state of permanent stand-by.

As of today, only seven virtual currency exchange licenses have been given by the BSP (Coins.ph, Bloom, SCI, eTranss, PDAX, Zybi Tech Inc, and Virtual Currency Philippines).

General public

Blockchain Space is constantly setting up events with great panelists, both local and international. From local groups, to international ones like Ripple, NEM, or Stellar, to influencers like Ian Balina, they’re pushing forward with evangelizing and bringing blockchain closer and closer to everyone, at investment, development, and educational levels.

Following Blockchain Space, and quickly gaining traction, there’s also Blockchats, a group focusing on South East Asia that focuses on creating an open space to discuss and educate everyone about the tremendous opportunities that blockchain affords everyone today.

It has become rare to see a week in Manila with fewer than two or three blockchain-related events. The market is ripe with anticipation, and only a handful of verticals seem to have been tapped.

For XONIO, the focus is on offering access to crypto to everyone, from the young professionals in the main cities, to the farmers in the middle of the jungle, by allowing them to enter the token economy using telco prepaid airtime.

XONIO aims to be the on-ramp crypto for emerging markets by providing the easiest way to create a blockchain wallet. Of course, bringing blockchain technology to millions of Filipinos also empowers them with all the benefits and opportunities blockchain has to offer.

For more info, visit www.xon.io. Join the community on Telegram.