The Philippines is miles ahead in blockchain regulations: Mark Vernon on CoinGeek Backstage
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Philippine regulators deserve praise for the pace at which they are regulating the digital asset and blockchain industries, promoting innovation while protecting investors. This is according to Mark Vernon, co-founder and vice chairman of the Fintech Philippines Association, who says the Southeast Asian country could be a world leader in blockchain.
“We’re probably more ahead than anywhere else. I’ve been in other countries where regulation stifles growth, especially where it crosses banking and fiat money,” Vernon told CoinGeek Backstage host Claire Celdran on the sidelines of the Philippine Fintech Festival.
Vernon praised the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its hands-on approach to Bitcoin regulations in the country. The central bank has been regulating virtual asset service providers (VASPs) for the past five years, creating an environment that has seen Filipinos invest in and experiment with digital assets with confidence.
Vernon encouraged developers to build applications that go beyond digital assets and payments. He believes there is a lot of value in applications running on blockchain technology, but this area remains untapped.
One particular market he believes blockchain can affect is the real estate market. While some startups have taken a stab at this market, few have been unsuccessful. Vernon says this has mostly been due to a lack of enabling regulations, as governments tend to be very slow to change their laws.
“I think there could be some hybrid approaches where you issue tokens that represent property where the government still has control over data and you have proof of ownership that you can then use to facilitate loans or do other things.”
Another area that could be an easy win for the Philippines is Know Your Customer (KYC) in the chain, which he says will make it easier for “financial companies to get people on board.”
See: Blockchain Social Manila: Digitization through blockchain will boost growth in the Philippines
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