In Meme We Trust: Philippines Weekly Crypto Roundup: May 8, 2023

Last week, the members of Facebook Group “Cryptobasurero,” which focused on new coins/airdrops as well as celebrating small crypto wins, probably had the week of their lives. Memecoins had soared courtesy of hype and fast Binance listing. While we already see the effect of an after-Binance listing (addition of futures trading, immediate dump after listing), let’s review the events of last week in Crypto Philippines. And I tell you there was a lot, we had a field day in our online newsroom:

• Coins.ph is in the middle of a major app upgrade, but users had complaints. 
• GCrypto is now available to all users as long as you KYC.
• Mintoo of PDAX secured a major deal to be the NFT ticket partner of hit jukebox musical Ang Huling El Bimbo.

Regulation and Policy

In the Philippines, Senator Risa Hontiveros continues her crusade on traffickers that are forcing Pinoys (and even foreigners) to become crypto scammers. 

• A Senate hearing has brought to light the fact that there are some buildings and condominiums in the metro that are being used to house the trafficked victims where they are forced to victimize others in massive crypto scams.
• Hontiveros has called on even the social media websites like Facebook, where the victims are promised lucrative jobs only to be trafficked afterwards.

Elsewhere, Richard Teng, the Regional Head of Asia, Europe, and MENA for Binance submitted an opinion article to BitPinas about the implementation of Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation in the European Union (EU)

• Teng noted how MiCA is providing better regulatory framework for crypto users and crypto companies. MiCA is after all a blanket rule for the members of the EU. If you are a crypto company in the EU, what will apply to one member country will apply to the other members too. 
• Binance has praised MiCA in the past. CEO Changpeng Zhao himself praised EU’s landmark crypto regulation rule, even saying Binance is ready to make adjustments for full compliance in the region.
• Check the BitPinas primer on MiCA here.

Industry Developments

BitPinas had a field day last week in terms of local crypto news. Let’s start with GCash:

• GCrypto is now available to all GCash account users. You still need to KYC but it’s there on the app when you want it.
  • Our beginner’s guide to GCrypto can be found here. (Will update this week)
• Check out our interview with GCash and their NFT partner Likha here.
• Finally, learn more details about the GCash NFT Crypto Hub.

Next, Coins.ph is in the middle of an ongoing upgrade and a couple of interesting developments for the oldest licensed crypto exchange in the country:

• Coins.ph users have experienced OTP issues during this upgrade; however, in a message to BitPinas, the company mentioned the steps it is taking to mitigate the issues.
• We covered the blockchain webinar conducted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Coins.ph.
• The company has received new accreditation for its security standards implemented in Coins Pro and its e-wallet services.

Mintoo, the NFT partner of PDAX, is where you can buy NFT tickets for hit jukebox musical Ang Huling El Bimbo. Check out our article here. 

Market Trends

It’s memecoin season, as noted earlier in this article. 

• CoinGecko released a new study revealing that the Philippines ranked fourth in the world when it comes to its love for meme tokens. 
• The company also mentioned what the top meme tokens in the Philippines are. 
  • It was Floki. (See the same link above.)
• Based on CoinGecko’s analysis, Pinoys tend to search for more obscure memecoins rather than buying the popular ones.
• Check out the top crypto gainers and losers from last week. 

Things to ponder

• Gemini Exchange made some headlines last week after revealing its plan to launch its derivative exchange in more countries, including the Philippines.
  • But wait, can they actually launch a derivative exchange here? We also covered that, although I think we left the question hanging.
• With GCash not having any plans to obtain a VASP license, will others try to follow its lead? We examined that question here.

Events

Former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay delivered a lecture on Bitcoin at the University of the Philippines. BitPinas writer Nath Cajuday was at the event to cover. 

• [Long Read] Ex SolGen Florin Hilbay: Bitcoin is Complex but Completely Understandable.

Elsewhere:

• The Blokc Media Launch
• Arcus GameFi Launch

What’s Next?

BitPinas was the first to interview Wei Zhou, the CEO of Coins.ph last year. And it looks like we’ll have another interview soon.

That’s definitely something to look forward to.

For more on the latest news on cryptocurrency in the Philippines always check out BitPinas.

• Check out our website at www.bitpinas.com
• We are also on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin
• Check out our Telegram channel as well.

This article is published on BitPinas: In Meme We Trust: Philippines Weekly Crypto Roundup: May 8, 2023

Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.