Cryptocurrencies have been gaining in popularity over recent years, and they have found their way to many industries. However, they still haven’t become mainstream, mostly due to their volatility. Nevertheless, crypto remains a hot topic on the global level, and many discussions and predictions circulate around it.
Some countries have taken a positive stance on cryptocurrencies, and the Philippines are among them. The purpose of embracing crypto on a high level is to boost the economy, and we have explored how cryptocurrencies could have a positive impact.
Penetration of Bitcoin Casinos
As we said, cryptocurrencies have penetrated many industries, and online gambling is among them. Gambling has been legal in the Philippines since the mid-‘70s, and this country has profiled itself as a popular gambling hub. The industry has moved online thanks to tech advancements, and nowadays, players can enjoy their favorite casino games from their desktop or mobile devices.
Some online casinos have gone a step further to provide better convenience to their players. Therefore, they introduced crypto as a payment method, and we call these operators bitcoin casinos. And since cryptocurrencies are very popular in this country, bitcoin casinos in the Philippines are boosting their online presence. Many Filipinos use crypto for gambling, and having it as a banking option eliminates the middleman in performing transactions with an online casino.
But how can bitcoin casinos help the Philippines’ economy? Since gambling is a regulated industry, the government collects taxes on these activities. Moreover, bitcoin casinos bring another dimension to the gambling market in the Philippines, and a substantial number of players use them.
Consequently, the tax proceeds have the potential to increase over time, and those funds could be redirected to other sectors, like health or education.
Crypto Regulations and Support in the PH
We have already said that a lot of discussion surrounds cryptocurrencies, and not all countries want to embrace them. Nevertheless, the Philippines don’t belong to that group since the government has built a framework that should encourage crypto acceptance.
For that purpose, authorities have announced the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 944, which can be considered a guideline for digital currency exchanges. This way, the Philippines are among the first countries in the Asian region to accept cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, the authorities have the intention to help crypto integrate into society more easily. The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) are pretty interested in crypto, and they should serve as facilitators in this process. Another positive sign for crypto in the Philippines is PSE’s interest in the facilitation of crypto trading. This way, new markets and opportunities could be opened, and the country could see more economic benefits from these actions.
However, it is not an easy process, although many moves in the right direction have already been made. Filipinos still need to learn a lot about crypto and blockchain technology. Nevertheless, they are already very interested in a wide acceptance of cryptocurrencies, and the government is making efforts to encourage them.
Several important events related to cryptocurrencies have already taken place in Manila, like a major Bitcoin event back in 2018.
Investment Opportunities
The government’s efforts to boost the crypto presence in the Philippines have already shown some positive signals. There are more and more crypto investors in the country, hoping they can make a fortune thanks to digital currencies and related investments. Predictions say that investors will hold 5% of their assets in cryptocurrencies in the next five years.
Since estimates indicate that cryptocurrencies will be valued more in the long term, they can have a positive effect on the country’s economic power. Also, investors are very interested in limited cryptocurrencies since they should gain more value and become even more attractive. Despite cryptos’ volatility, their resilience to political impact or inflation is much higher compared to other traditional financial instruments.
Therefore, they should become more stable investments. That is another long-term bet for Filipino crypto investors and the Philippines’ authorities. Among other benefits of crypto investments, they can diversify investors’ assets. This way, investors shouldn’t be as dependent on bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments as they are nowadays. For early adopters, it means they could increase their asset value more than expected.
Eventually, safety is another factor that makes cryptos attractive to investors. Cryptocurrency transactions are very safe, they are direct and fast, and more importantly, there are no intermediaries. Sensitive information about crypto transactions is inaccessible to third parties thanks to blockchain technology that provides that environment.
In other words, cryptos are not dependent on any central monitoring authority, and participants have full control of their assets.
Crypto Accessibility in the PH
Since Filipinos are very interested in cryptocurrencies, they also expanded their views to a more strategic area. Nowadays, Filipinos can access crypto through different gateways. Perhaps the biggest one for Filipino users is PDAX. The Philippines have a homegrown crypto trading platform, and investors can perform all kinds of transactions.
Thanks to this BSP-licensed platform, many Filipinos have entered the crypto world. The new service, PDAX Prime, allows investors to access directly to the cryptocurrency market and enjoy fast trading with competitive prices. It is also available on the mobile app or web exchange, and users have access to 21 digital currencies.
Investors who need help during their crypto journey can take advantage of the platform’s skilled customer support. A knowledgeable team will offer them the right guidance in the form of personal assistance. Those who want to expand their knowledge of the crypto world can explore the platform’s learning content.
Conclusion
The Philippines have already made significant efforts to adopt cryptocurrencies as the next big thing. The government sees potential in digital currencies that should help the country’s economy in several ways. Whether it is through increased tax revenue, diversified assets, or long-term stability, the Philippines hope they can take advantage of the pros that cryptocurrencies bring.
This Southeast Asian country has already become one of the world’s hotspots regarding crypto since more than four million Filipinos hold digital assets. Thanks to defined frameworks, the Philippines could boost its economic potential by making crypto mainstream.
