‘PHL is capable of becoming a digital leader’

DESPITE the uncertainty created by the pandemic and the recent spike in commodity prices, the government and the private sector remain optimistic about the country’s prospects, particularly in the digital space.

At the recent Philippine Fintech Festival hosted by Digital Pilipinas, participants said the Philippines is “well-positioned” in Web 3.0, blockchain, crypto, and non-fungible tokens (NFT), among others.

According to Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou, the Philippines is on the cusp of something “very big.”

“We really need to learn blockchain, crypto, NFT, and other digital assets by using them in their day-to-day lives,” he said.

Atty. Jocelle Batapa-sigue, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) undersecretary for ICT Industry Development, discussed crypto trends and gave her insights on the execution of Web 3, blockchain, and efforts to digitalize the country.

“Blockchain technology has proven that valuable opportunities have opened up for Filipinos that wouldn’t have been possible in the past,” she said. “Because of this, we look forward to partnering with like-minded organizations that push the country’s ICT agenda and supporting initiatives that can bring Web 3.0 closer to the Filipino people.”

Ling Zhang, managing partner at Old Fashion Research, said now is the right and “perfect” time to build and invest in the crypto space.

With this in mind, Coins.ph plans to make the Philippines a leader in Web 3.0 not just in Southeast Asia, but globally. “What we need to do collectively is to make the Philippines a champion of blockchain adoption, because it is really possible with the help of users, capital, and projects,” said Wei.

He shared some of their company’s existing efforts to ramp up crypto education, including its partnerships with Miss Universe Philippines to launch a three-part Live Crypto 101 series on the basics of blockchain and NFTS and with the De La Salle University for orientation seminars and booth activations.

The firm will do undertake similar events with other schools and universities in the metro.

It has launched Coins Academy, a series of introductory educational articles, aimed at educating people on all things crypto, blockchain, and Web3, and contents are available in both English and Filipino. Also, it worked with the Philippine Basketball Association to bring crypto and Web3 education to sports fans nationwide via Courtside Crypto, a one-minute video series that premiered on social media.

Upcoming services and activities that customers can enjoy include the Coins Trade Desk for an easy and seamless trading experience; improved Coins Pro UI/UX with more cryptocurrency tokens; and the company’s metaverse participation through the Virtual Influencer Tiktok Studio to be launched in Manila.