With exorbitant fuel prices and runaway inflation right on the heels of the worst pandemic and global crisis of the 21st century, it’s easy to be pessimistic about the country’s economic future. However, major global tech player Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, feels that the Philippines is on the cusp of something very big, very soon.
Zhou recently acquired Coins.ph, the Philippines’ leading digital wallet provider and crypto exchange platform with over 16 million users. Coins.ph was the co-presenter of the recent Philippine Fintech Festival hosted by Digital Pilipinas, the largest private sector movement for creating a technology and innovation ecosystem geared to bring about technological acceleration in the country and building an anti-fragile system in its societal structures and industries.
Speaking alongside industry leaders in the vertical, Zhou talked about why he is particularly interested in the Philippines now and pushed for the massive blockchain adoption here in the Philippines
“We really need to learn blockchain, crypto, NFT, and other digital assets by using them in their day-to-day lives,” Zhou said, encouraging the event participants.
Within the festival, a Blockchain Summit led by Coins.ph was held. Discussions on crucial topics such as popularization of Web 3.0, the metaverse, and NFTs in daily life were raised while leaders from government and private institutions gave their insights.
The Department of Information and Communication and Technology (DICT) shared on how regulators perceive crypto trends and provided perspectives on the execution of Web 3, blockchain, and crypto 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. 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,” said Undersecretary JocelleBatapa-Sigue of the DICT-ICT Industry Development Bureau.
On the other hand, Veronica Wong, CEO of SafePal actively pushed for Web 3.0 adoption by partnering with industry leaders and builders in the ecosystem. She emphasized the need for “better and safer technologies that will help people navigate the space more safely.”
Ling Zhang, Managing Partner at Old Fashion Research, said that “right now in the crypto space, we’re just at the right time; not too early, not too late. It’s the perfect time to build and invest.”
As the CEO of Coins.ph, Wei also spoke of his plans to make the Philippines “a leader in Web 3.0 not just in ASEAN, but globally.” He sees digital assets and blockchain technology as equalizers and a good place to start toward financial empowerment for Filipinos.
“What we need to do collectively is to make the Philippines a champion of blockchain adoption, because it is really possible. We can share our country’s model with our neighboring countries and help each other out in this game,” he said, zeroing in on endless opportunities in this blockchain-enabled space.
Seeing things from a crypto-native lens, Zhou identified crucial aspects the country needs to thrive in the blockchain realm: “We need users, capital, and projects which will help our community to take off, and that’s what we’re seeing being built here in the Philippines.”
The crypto champion also likened the current state of the Philippines to the early stages of tech adoption in China, a significant player in the blockchain realm, and emphasized how big the potential of our country is in becoming a technological leader given how adept we are in rising in this disruptive tech.
Wei drew several parallels between China just before its economy took off androse to become the 2nd most powerful in the world, and the Philippines now. He mentioned the two country’s similar population structure, with the Philippines having the largest generation of young people in its history as themajority of Filipinos are under 30.
Online gaming continues to gain traction in the country and shows signs of steady growth in the coming years, mainly due to the accessibility of affordable mobile devices and internet infrastructures available in the market.In terms of crypto adoption, 2021 served as a proof-of-concept for the Philippines, and cryptocurrency is still a valuable investment.
