Ida Tiongson: Don’t be surprised if the Philippines is the next blockchain hub
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The Philippines is quickly gaining a global reputation as a hub for digital assets, ranking ahead of titans like the US and South Korea in adoption. Ida Tiongson, a committee member at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), believes it is only a matter of time before the Philippines becomes the global hub for blockchain.
Tiongson was at the Philippines Fintech Festival, an event that brought together thought leaders and innovators in the digital resource industry and beyond. She spoke with CoinGeek Backstage host Claire Celdran on the sidelines of the event about the state of adoption in the country and BSP’s role in the blockchain and Bitcoin industry.
Tiongson, who considers himself an advocate for fintech and governance, sits on the BSP’s Open Finance Oversight Committee as well as on the boards of several regional powerhouses, including Alipay, the Chinese giant with 1.3 billion users.
Tiongson believes blockchain will play a big role, especially in decentralized finance.
“When you do transactions digitally, the better option is the use of blockchain,” she said.
Lending in particular will benefit significantly from blockchain-powered digitization. Tiongson believes that blockchain will enable borrowers to tokenize their security. Blockchain is almost impossible to hack and it guarantees authenticity, two factors that are critical with sensitive documents like deeds.
Blockchain can also have a big impact on fundraising, allowing Philippine companies to raise money from investors around the world. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) started with this noble goal, but derailed along the way as scammers took over and raised hundreds of billions of dollars by selling pump-and-dump tokens.
The BSP has conducted feasibility tests for a digital peso, and announced a pilot project for a wholesale CBDC in May this year.
“That pilot is slowly being picked up and [the BSP] looking at the risks and benefits. Hopefully BSP can implement it and it would be a big stepping stone towards decentralized finance… Don’t be surprised if [Philippines] is the next blockchain hub,” Tiongson noted.
Watch: Philippine Fintech Festival Highlights: Designing a digital economy that is anti-fragile
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