Coins.ph Receives BSP Approval to Launch PHPC, a Philippine Peso-Pegged Stablecoin
Coins.ph said this the first Philippine stablecoin available for retail customers to trade and use in various transactions.
Aiming to “enable convenience, cost-efficiency, and speed in a variety of financial activities including remittances, trading, and payments,” Coins.ph confirmed that it will be launching $PHPC in June 2024 as the first Peso stablecoin to be available to retail.
This follows the crypto exchange receiving approval from the Central Bank of the Philippines to issue a Philippine peso-pegged stablecoin.
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What is PHPC?
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged 1:1 to other assets, like fiat, gold, or even other cryptocurrencies. Among the most known stablecoins are $USDT and $USDC, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
In this case, $PHPC will be pegged to the Philippine peso and will be fully backed by cash and cash equivalents stored in Philippine bank accounts, as explained by Coins.ph.
In a press conference, Coins.ph CEO Wei Zhou emphasized that $PHPC’s positive effect will be greatly felt by people who need to transact through remittances. This is because the stablecoin is expected to reduce the cost and time associated with sending funds, especially from Filipinos overseas, to their families in the country.
“While PHPC presents a variety of potential applications in trading and payments, we anticipate remittances to be a foremost use case for Filipinos, as PHPC will not only reduce costs; it also means that now Peso transactions can happen 24/7 and in real-time,”
Wei Zhou, CEO, Coins.ph
Moreover, the Coins chief further advertised that the firm’s new product is set to revolutionize the financial transactions of both individuals and businesses, affording them greater flexibility, lower costs, and rapid settlements:
“PHPC will empower Filipinos to transact seamlessly and securely in the digital economy, while also providing a stable store of value as they participate in the rapidly evolving digital asset landscape.”
Wei Zhou, CEO, Coins.ph
A History of Stablecoins Pegged in Peso
In 2019, Bitspark CEO George Harrap explained that a Philippine peso stablecoin is important in remittances to reduce counterparty risks and increase price efficiency, which means better pricing than a remittance through $BTC.
Read: Bitspark CEO Explains the Importance of Peso Stablecoin (and Stablecoins in General)
It was after the Hong Kong-based money transfer agent planned that year to launch a Philippine peso stablecoin named peg.PHP, the first known Philippine peso stablecoin to be launched.
Bitspark has since shut down.
Read: BitSpark Will Launch Philippine Peso Stablecoin
Months later, UnionBank of the Philippines launched $PHX, which also aimed to facilitate a blockchain-based cross-border remittance transaction. It is the first recorded entity to launch a Philippine peso stablecoin in the country.
Read: UnionBank Launching Cryptocurrency (Stablecoin) PHX
Years passed and another Philippine peso stablecoin was planned to be launched by UnionDigital Bank, UnionBank’s licensed digital bank, in 2022 called $PHD. It was revealed by then-CEO Arvie De Vera during the BitPinas Webcast Episode 7.
Read: UnionBank’s UnionDigital to Launch Crypto Stablecoin PHD
In the same year, 2022, C Pass Inc. announced that it has developed a “crypto coin” that is set to be used as a way to promote cashless payments in Cebu City. It is called “C-Peso,” which is a product of a Memorandum of Understanding, signed since April 2021, with the city government of Cebu the firm.
Read: C-Pass Inc Signs MOU to Eye Use of Its Crypto Coin C-Peso in Cebu City
Then, in 2023, money service business Direct Agent 5, Inc. (DA5) said it plans to introduce $PHMU, which was formalized during DA5’s partnership with Gurufin, a Layer-1 Hybrid Mainnet that claims to integrate real-economy payment services with blockchain technology.
Read: PH Crypto Exchange DA5, Gurufin Launch Peso Stablecoin
The most recent is just in March 2024, when UBX, the digital arm of the Aboitiz Group, revealed its plans to create a peso-based stablecoin on Polygon PoS.
Read: UnionBank’s UBX to Introduce Peso Stablecoin on Polygon
Coins.ph’s PHPC is the first of the stablecoins above that will be readily available to retail by June 2024.
This article is published on BitPinas:Â Coins.ph to Launch $PHPC, a Philippine Peso-Pegged Stablecoin, in June 2024
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