Comparison of Bitcoin Sites and Services in the Philippines
As bitcoin starts to become popular in the country, a number of bitcoin services have now appeared in the Philippines. We covered many of them in previous articles. In today’s post, we compare each of these sites and check how you can use them.
Overview
There are many BTC sites in PH right now and they can be divided into different categories. We will be discussing the BTC wallets first before we proceed to the other kinds of BTC sites in the country.
Bitcoin Wallets
Bitcoin Wallets are software you used to store and hold your bitcoins. Think of it like your traditional wallet on your pocket. However, it doesn’t store fiat money. It stores bitcoins.
Okay, technically, what it has is the private key. Your bitcoin is stored in the public address, but no one can access it but you, because only you have the private key, which you access on your bitcoin wallet.
| Philippine Bitcoin Sites – Wallets Comparison | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coins.ph | Bitbit.cash | Abra | |
| Primary Type | Wallet | Wallet | Wallet |
| Secondary Type | Virtual Peso Wallet | Exchange | |
| What is it | Lets you exchange Php to Btc. It also acts as a digital wallet. | Lets you stor bitcoins | Lets you exchange Php to Btc. |
| Primary Mode of Transaction | Online | Online | Online |
| Digital Coins Accepted | Bitcoin | Bitcoin | Bitcoin |
| Fiat Money Accepted | Php | Php (via Buybitcoin.ph) | Php |
| Fees |
|
|
|
| Requirements | |||
| Primary Requirements | Email and Mobile Number | Email and Mobile Number | Email and Mobile Number |
| Verification | National IDs, Selfie, Utility Bill, Credit Card Bill | National IDs, Selfie, Utility Bill (Cross Verification with Buybitcoin.ph possible) | Identity and Location (for Sellers) |
| Online Bank Connection | Security Bank, Union Bank, BPI | BPI, Union Bank | |
| Banks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Card | No | No | No |
Note: It is important to note that Coins and Bitbit.cash don’t give you access to your private keys. More on Coins.ph here. More on Bitbit here.
*Coins.ph has different transaction fees depending on speed of the transaction (for Bitcoin – Bitcoin transactions)
Breakdown of Bitcoin Wallets
Coins.ph
- An all-around Php and BTC wallet site where you can buy, sell, and even use bitcoins.
- Buying and Selling are as easy as going to 7-eleven to fund your account and then convert your pesos into bitcoin within their app.
- Coins.ph sets their own buy and sell rates for bitcoin.
- Click here for more information on Coins.ph
Bitbit.cash
- A bitcoin wallet app that lets you send and receive bitcoins.
- More about Bitbit.cash in this article.
Abra
- A worldwide wallet app that lets you send and receive bitcoins
- Has “Abra Tellers” enabling you to deal BTC transactions offline
- More information on Abra in this article.
Specific Bitcoin Sites
These are sites that are not specifically BTC wallets, but they are BTC services for Filipinos nonetheless.
| Buybitcoin.ph | PrepaidBitcoin.ph | Rebit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Buy and Sell | Buy and Sell | Remittance |
| What does it do? | Lets you exchange pesos to bitcoin. | Lets you buy prepaid cards containing an activation code to get bitcoin. | Lets you send money to the Philippines using Bitcoin. |
| Primary Mode of Transaction | Online | Offline (then online activation) | Online |
| Digital Coins Accepted | Bitcoin | Bitcoin | Bitcoin |
| Fiat Money Accepted | Php | Php | Php (output only) |
| Fees | Free – Php 50.00 depending on mode | None** | Free – Php 140.00 |
| Requirements | |||
| Primary Requirements | Email and Mobile Number | Email and Mobile Number | Email and Mobile Number |
| Verification | National IDs, Selfie, Utility Bill | None | None |
| Banks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Card | No | No | No |
**Fees are probably on top of the amount you pay to buy a Prepaid Bitcoin Card, check out more here.
Buybitcoin.ph
- A site where you can buy bitcoins.
- Strictly a buy and sell bitcoin site. (You need to transfer the bitcoins you bought into your own wallet).
- Buybitcoin.ph sets their own buy and sell rates for bitcoin.
- More about BuyBitcoin.ph in this article.
Rebit.ph
- A bitcoin remittance app. Allows you to send money to the Philippines from anywhere while you pay using bitcoin.
- The receiver will get the money (converted into Pesos depending on the bitcoin exchange rate) from their bank or to where you specify it.
- Also allows you to buy mobile load or pay bills via bitcoin. Rebit will do the conversion.
- More about Rebit and Remittances in this article.
Prepaid Bitcoin.ph
You buy a prepaid bitcoin card that is worth Php 200, Php 500, or Php 1,000. You scratch the back of the card, like you did those old mobile prepaid load cards. After that, you input the code on their website so that you can send that amount of bitcoin to your bitcoin wallet.More about Prepaid Bitcoin Cards in this article.
The websites above are the popular bitcoin sites currently running their businesses in the Philippines.
Now, which one should you use? As you can see, bitcoin sites in the Philippines sit on different categories and functions. So it will depend as to what kind of service do you want. I compiled a list of recommendations based on what you need from a bitcoin site:
- If you want a Bitcoin Site where you can do everything within just one app, we recommend Coins and Bitbit.
- If you simply want to buy bitcoins and planning to keep the digital currency on your own wallet, go to buybitcoin.ph
- If you are from abroad and you want to send money to the Philippines, Rebit.ph is the website for you.
- If you don’t want to give any information about yourself but still want to buy bitcoins, use the Prepaid Bitcoin Card, scratch it, then send the amount into your wallet.
That’s it! I hope this helps you compare and contrast the different bitcoin sites currently in the Philippines. Which one will you be using?
