Statistics prove that the Philippines is a digital asset-accepting country. Chainalysis ranked Philippines as second in the world for cryptocurrency adoption, and play-to-earn (P2E) game Axie Infinity had the Philippines as its biggest player base with 2.5 million daily active users when it was at its peak in 2021. However, it is unsure whether or not the blockchain education they received is legitimate, sound and proper.
An enterprise blockchain conference addresses such an issue by educating its attendees about blockchain. Blockchain experts, global thought leaders and financial technology (fintech) professionals share their knowledge through talks, expos, and events that holistically shape the Filipinos' understanding of what blockchain can do for them.
Blockchain Social Manila: BSV Is Here For Utility, Not Speculation
Although the Philippines is fraught with tech-savvy people, many still doubt blockchain and what it can do. Brendan Lee, the founder of blockchain-based solutions firm Elas, took the stage to talk about blockchain utility beyond the hype during the inaugural Blockchain Social Manila 2021.
Lee is one of the many speakers of the blockchain meetup, where Bitcoin enthusiasts, developers, and innovators flocked together. Speaking to CoinGeek Backstage host Claire Celdran, he made it clear that the BSV ecosystem is not about the hype and speculation, but "for utility."
Meanwhile, Lee believes the country should look beyond tokens and explore blockchain technology for other sectors, such as digitalization through blockchain. He says that blockchain offers us a way to "streamline any process that uses paper without breaking the continuity of that process. Also, blockchain can "replicate it digitally and make it instantly available wherever you need it," Lee said.
Philippine Fintech Festival Highlights The ASEAN As An Innovation Hub
The inaugural week-long Philippine Fintech Festival (PFF) 2021 was held in Makati City from October 18-21 last year. The landmark event declared the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) growing intention to transform itself as a hub between businesses, public and private sectors, and governments through financial technology.
Driven by its goal to attain financial sustainability, regional players such as the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and other ASEAN countries led the charge to become the drivers of innovation. Amor Maclang, the convenor of PFF's convenor Digital Pilipinas, graced the event with her opening speech that echoes this sentiment well.
"We want the Philippines and ASEAN to perhaps be a welcoming gateway and a safe haven for those in the face of economic conditions, various adversities, and political headwinds so that they can temporarily relocate and be here where their culture of innovation can be preserved," said Maclang.
Financial technology indeed increases financial inclusion and cuts operational costs, but it comes with the risk of scams, outages and hacks. Regulators and other industry stakeholders worldwide emphasized this during the PFF, and most industry leaders implored the Filipinos leaders to focus this on future plans for blockchain adoption.
Global Blockchain Summit: Philippines Can "become A Global Blockchain Hub"
The Global Blockchain Summit is a blockchain conference held in Bataan, known for its rich history and beautiful coastline. From October 26-29, 2021, the summit featured branching Bataan's blockchain development towards the entire country, and eventually, the world.
Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, the undersecretary of the Department of Information & Communications Technology (DICT), is pushing for the adoption of blockchain as she believes it could "change the fortune of millions of Filipinos." Bataan already has the Bataanverse, the city's own version of the metaverse.
"My goal is to ensure that we leverage digital solutions and emerging technologies to create jobs and investment opportunities for the Philippines, especially for the countryside. The direction is to bring these advocacies and digital awareness about emerging technologies outside Metro Manila," Batapa-Sigue stated.
Blockchain conferences pave the way for increasing blockchain awareness and educating the public about what it can do for Filipinos. These three blockchain conferences have been crucial in ushering in a new year of blockchain adoption in the Southeast Asian nation.
