The Growing Cryptocurrency Industry In The Philippines And How It's Saving The Economy

The First Bank That Offers Digital Assets Custodian Service In The Philippines

“Digital assets are here to stay, whether it be in the form of cryptocurrency, NFTs or tokenized assets, and we are seeing more market demand for these. – Henry Aguda”

These were the words of chief technology and operations officers of Union Bank – one of the biggest banks in the Philippines during an interview after Union Bank announced their partnership with Hex Asia Trust – Asia’s largest digital asset custodian.

The reason for the partnership was because Union Bank of the Philippines wanted to offer a digital asset custodian service for their customers and investors interested in investing into cryptocurrencies.

Union Bank’s action was a response to the growing interest of Filipinos when it comes to cryptocurrency and the blockchain. They believed that the cryptocurrency industry was quickly maturing and that the bank’s customer base would be very interested in the service they’re offering.

Before offering their digital asset custodian service to their customers though they would first pilot the service for the use of their own employees under the supervision of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This was to ensure that the system they’re going to use for their digital assets custodian service was safe and protected.

Once fully operational, Union Bank would be given the honor of being the first bank in the Philippines that offered custodian services for digital assets.

Moreover, the custodian service encompasses over 100 coins which included popular ones such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tether (USDT), and of course Bitcoin Cash (BCH) – exposing Filipinos to cryptocurrencies beyond BTC and that of the most popular altcoins – making them see cryptocurrency in a more positive light.

The Filipinos’ View On Cryptocurrency

As mentioned earlier, Filipinos interest in cryptocurrency had significantly increased over the years. Many Filipino in the country are exploring cryptocurrency as an alternative to the traditional stock market.

Moreover, even the Philippine government seemed to view cryptocurrency in a positive light as proven by the fact that crypto-related regulations in the country are not as harsh in comparison to other countries. Nor is there any news of crackdowns related to cryptocurrency in the country.

It could even be said that Philippine government is in support of cryptocurrency as the partnership between Union Bank of the Philippines and Hex Asia Trust seemed to have the approval of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or the Central Bank of the Philippines – even going as far as to oversee the bank’s pilot custodian program.

Of course like in most countries, cryptocurrency is also regulated in the Philippines. But unlike some countries, the regulations do not hamper the growth of the cryptocurrency industry. On the contrary, the regulations might even be helping it grow as it ensures some level of protection from the government.

That said the Philippines’ still not yet on the level of El Salvador where Bitcoin was considered legal tinder. Nonetheless, I still think that the country’s fair regulation is attracting new investors to invest in the fast-growing industry which in turn is helping the Philippine economy.

And speaking of economy…

Cryptocurrency Is Helping The Philippine Economy Recover

The Philippine could boast that it was one of the countries with the third fastest-growing cryptocurrency sector. Although the popularity of cryptocurrency had grown significantly since 2017, it was actually the pandemic that brought that popularity to a new height which is quite ironic considering its effect on the country's economy.

With the pandemic devastating the Philippine economy, Filipinos are looking for new ways to keep themselves afloat while staying at home to reduce contact with the virus. And as one would expect many decided to turn towards cryptocurrency for support.

There were many stories of Filipinos taking out their life savings and investing most if not all of them to cryptocurrency. And with successful Filipinos investors sharing their success in social media like Facebook and Twitter, many more are attracted to invest in the cryptocurrency market.

Of course not everyone have money to invest. For those that cannot afford to take out large amount of money but still want to dabble with cryptocurrencies; websites that offer cryptocurrency as rewards for doing various tasks such as writing articles or sharing "tweets" was the answer.

For example, website like Read.Cash allows people from around the world to earn BCH by writing articles. This was also the case for websites like Hive.blog and Steemit. If writing long articles is not your thing but you’re fond of "tweeting" then Noise.Cash is the website for you.

And if you’re into art then there’s also a place for you in the crypto-space too through NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens. Even gamers could earn cryptocurrrency simply by playing games like Axie Infinity and/or Splinterlands.

The good thing about all the websites I’ve mentioned was the fact that one could do everything without leaving the safety of one’s home. And considering that the whole country was currently in lockdown, these websites could be said to be godsend – helping regular Filipinos to tide through the pandemic while reducing the risk of exposure to the virus.

It was estimated that tens of thousands of Filipinos, possibly more, have benefited from cryptocurrency, and that number is increasing by the day. And as for the Philippine government, it seemed to be happy to let its citizens explore the possibilities of cryptocurrency – as long as they’re aware of the risk that is.

And why wouldn’t it?

The taxes that the Philippine government could get from cryptocurrency can greatly aid the country’s failing economy. I won’t go as far as to say that it helps the economy stay afloat as the tax gathered through cryptocurrency only constitute a tiny percentage of the country’s entire GDP. But there’s no doubt in my mind that the country has benefitted tremendously from the fast-growing cryptocurrency industry.

That is all. Cheers!

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Disclaimer: This article was double-checked using an online plagiarism detector to ensure originality.

Lead Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/philippines-flag-filipino-nation-1195394/

My other articles: https://read.cash/@beastion