The Philippines Will Soon Be Called “Bitcoin Island” – Here’s Why
The western coast of the small resort town in the center of The Philippines develop into one “Bitcoin Island.“ Bag, a cryptocurrency wallet service, has been actively promoting Bitcoin’s use on the island for the past four months.
According to Pouch’s vice president Bill Mill, 120 businesses– both big and small – on Boracay has so far agreed to accept Bitcoin payments from customers.
He claimed that while promoting crypto-tourism, it is intended to establish a micro-economy powered entirely by Bitcoin.
Ethan Rose, an American expat, founded Pouch in 2021, a Bitcoin wallet service that uses the Lightning Network to enable customers to “seamlessly send and receive [money] across national borders.” The wallet is still in beta testing, according to the website.
The company’s main goal is to use faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions to tap into the third largest in the world, the multi-billion dollar Philippine money transfer market. Also taken into account are digital nomads, those BTC enthusiasts who feel at home even when they are far from home.
The need for Bitcoin use in the country
Last year, Filipinos who were employed abroad sent 31.4 billion dollars home to help their families. The funds are often used to finance education, buy food and clothing, start a business, build a home and pay for daily expenses.
It is an important survival tool for Filipino families. But financial institutions like banks keep an excessive amount of the money in transfer fees. The World Bank estimates that the cost of transferring remittances is 7% on average globally and above 5% in South Asia.
Compared with Sustainable Development Goals’ objective of reducing financial transfer costs within 3% of total transaction value by 2030, this is far too expensive.
The Central Bank of the Philippines has granted Pouch a license to handle transactions in both Bitcoin and the local peso. While regulatory compliance has been easy in the Philippines, it remains “a significant challenge and expensive” in the United States.
Cryptocurrencies and the Philippines
The Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines is against banning cryptocurrency. In a meeting, Felipe Medallathe legislative head of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank, discussed his strategy for handling digital currency.
It made sense to the head of the national bank, since contrary to what he would have you believe, the digital currency has very little use for actual payments, especially given how volatile the price is. He suggested referring to it as crypto assets to emphasize that money cannot be completely unpredictable.
Not only this, the country is making great strides in matters related to cryptocurrencies. Despite their strained relationship, Binance is currently helping the Philippine government develop cryptocurrency legislation.
This comes after Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) advised users not to invest with Binance in early August.
