Stefan Matthews: The Philippines has the chance to leapfrog developed countries through blockchain
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The Philippines may have lagged behind the West in adopting some of today’s most defining technologies. However, it can turn this to its strength, and through blockchain adoption it can leapfrog other developed nations, Stefan Matthews believes.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Blockchain Summit in Bataan, Matthews revealed that he was impressed by the level of blockchain development and adoption in the Philippines.
“This country could benefit greatly from the initiatives that are on the table here,” Matthews told CoinGeek Backstage reporter Claire Celdran.
Matthews, nChain and TAAL (CSE: TAAL | FWB:9SQ1 | OTC: TAALF) Executive Chairman, is a Bitcoin veteran who has been around since the days when the digital currency was thought to be for geeks and technophiles. As he noted, Bitcoin was designed from the very beginning to be regulatory compliant, contrary to much of the anti-establishment rhetoric that took over when Satoshi Nakamoto stepped away from active development in the early 2010s.
“Regulatory oversight is critically important. I will never shy away from it,” he says.
One of the most exciting areas for blockchain adoption is storing public records, assets and transactions, he says. In the Philippines, the Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. government has committed to digitizing governance, and Matthews said this is a critical first step. He added that this would put the country on course to leapfrog other developed nations.
“First world countries have to go through the steps ABCDEF when adopting new and innovative technologies. Developing countries have the unique opportunity to go from A to F in one step, and that’s what’s going to happen here. I can feel it . I can see that,” Matthews noted.
“I want to spend the rest of my working life with blockchain technology,” he noted.
The blockchain veteran added that he intends to devote the rest of his working life to blockchain technology. In his experience, it has become much easier to talk to government officials and even corporate customers about blockchain than it was years ago as the technology becomes mainstream. He believes it is only a matter of time before governments globally start operating on the blockchain.
See: Highlights from the Global Blockchain Summit
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