The Role of Exchanges in Onboarding People to Web3

• The recently concluded Web3 Community Summit held a panel discussion moderated by YGG Pilipinas’ Kat Gonzalez, with Coins.ph’s Jen Bilango, PDAX’s Vince Tio, and GCrypto’s Mark Nunez.
• For the panelists, mass adoption of crypto in the country will surely happen on the bull market. This is also the perfect time to educate those who will be onboarded.
• They also emphasized the role of community, which will further enhance the relationship of each crypto native.

“Do you want me to be frank? Bull Market. Unfortunately, it’s true. Once people think, Okay, I can probably earn here,’ that’s where the education kicks in. A lot of people who are OG’s here were brought in because of the initial bull market, right? The people here got together because of that as well—money talks.”

This is the straightforward answer of Jen Bilango, the country manager of Coins.ph, when YGG Pilipinas Kat Gonzales asked the panel, including PDAX’s Vince Tio, and GCrypto’s Mark Nunez, about what factors ‌they think will onboard more Filipinos in the crypto space. 

The panel discussion took place last Friday, July 14, 2023, during the Web3 Community Summit organized by Yield Guild Games (YGG). 

Educating People Who Attracted From Bull Market

While the three panelists agreed that the bull market greatly contributes to onboarding more crypto natives, they also collectively emphasized that local exchanges should enhance user security to be able to gain the users’ trust and then educate them.

“I think at the end of the day, what we do not want is any platform risk. So there will be another bull market, there will be another option, but what you want to remove is platform risks because those are externalities that are not within your control and then education that will happen over time,” Bilango explained. 

Meanwhile, Nunez compared the bull market to the COVID-19 pandemic, where GCash was said to grow by enabling customers to use cashless transactions: 

“We made sure that is very easy to use. The infrastructure was complete, we made sure that the users were able to trust their funds with us and at the same time, if we were able to educate these users. So that’s why we’re sticking to the formula of making sure the infrastructure is there—easy access, trust, education and at the same time, we’re just waiting for that opportunity. But while waiting for that opportunity, we’re also exploring or learning different things or trying to onboard different technologies as well.”

(Read more: GCrypto Guide | How to Buy & Sell Crypto on GCash)

This idea was seconded by Tio, who admitted that he got onboarded during the bull run of 2017. For him, “we want to be able to build that trust. So when that time comes, when the next wave does come in, users will already be able to come into the web3 space in a channel that they would trust, in a channel that is already well known.”

The Role of Community in Onboarding More Crypto Natives

Representing the three crypto exchanges in the country, the panelists emphasized that the good thing in the crypto community today is that traders are now wiser than before. Thus, the community itself will undoubtedly contribute to educating those who want to enter the crypto space. 

“GCash just helps moderate that community, but we see the power of that community by helping build that aside from providing a platform that you can trust, where you can build that community that helps strengthen that trust further. The first users or those who will be the leaders when it comes to helping on board the people into this space will be this community, so that’s why we’re educating, we’re sharing about our products, and we’re a believer, even outside of GCrypto, that community helps build the product, and eventually, the community can help each other grow in this space,” said Nunez. 

(Read more: GCash Unveils GCrypto, GStocks, GChat & More at FutureCast 2023)

On the other hand, Tio proudly shared that it was because of the PDAX community’s idea that the exchange launched its own in-app NFT platform, Mintoo: 

“It’s really about listening to the community. So it’s very important for us in terms of seeing what the users would want, and what were their challenges. It all stems really from understanding, and not just understanding, really listening to the users. So what we do is that community (can send more feedback, and it’s also better for us in terms of seeing how we can create our product roadmap to match what might be needed now and what’s needed a couple of years from now or maybe just to do the next bull run.”

Lastly, Bilango highlighted that what is good about web3 is that it removes the middleman from every transaction and that the community will always have a voice. For the country manager, giving the community the power to vote on a network or blockchain is one of the reasons that strengthens the community. 

(Read more: GCash Unveils GCrypto, GStocks, GChat & More at FutureCast 2023 | BitPinas)

“So our perspective there is of course it’s important because at the end of the day what you’re trying to address is the community. What happened before‌, you know, for the longest time, the community becomes secondary because you have to give way to intermediaries, right? But now, because of web3, you can now directly talk to your real user base. And to some extent, this is just a natural evolution of technology,” she explained. 

This article is published on BitPinas: The Role of Exchanges in Onboarding People to Web3

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.