Newsletter: BSP CBDC, PayMaya, Crypto Swindlers, BreederDAO | May 11, 2022

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. BitPinas has no commercial relationship with any mentioned entity unless otherwise stated.

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From Michael Mislos, Editor of BitPinas

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With the market currently down, and your favorite crypto currently experiencing double-digit decreases, there’s no better time to learn about cryptocurrency than today. The market is not always up. When I got the chance to speak in a panel and I was asked what the future currently holds, I was not as bullish as everyone else in that very room. The crypto market has consistently moved in cycles in the last ten years. Bullish in long term. Cautious in the short term.

Most of last week’s news are follow-ups and updates from stories we have already covered. For example, PayMaya has formally “rebranded” to “Maya” after we first reported them adding crypto into the app. Also last week, Maya announced a “Bitcoin Millionaire” campaign but commenters on the BitPinas page said the requirements are too many. Meanwhile, its competitor GCash just finished blocking 900k accounts to fight online scams.

Speaking of online scams, remember the Nagoyo Scam last December? The Bangko Sentral has finally imposed sanctions to both BDO and UnionBank, but the central bank did not elaborate, so Senator Grace Poe issued a press release asking the regulator to tell the public what those penalties are. Of course, the BSP has a lot on its plate during this election season, but Gov. Diokno did mention more information about the central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative he is spearheading. Their target implementation for a pilot? Q4 2022.

Also about online scams, the SEC has a new regulatory advisory, this time, around this app called Sengre, which the Commission said is just a rehash of LEEFIRE, which they already flagged before.

Oh, and two police-related crypto news, 13 crypto swindlers were caught in Paranaque, while 2 people were nabbed for running a multi-million crypto scheme.

Wait, Michael, was there any good news last week? Well, at least for the CryptoPH space there are, actually. For example, another Filipino-led startup – BreederDAO – successfully raised $20.7 Million in their IDO sale. We reported about the Finblox event where its CEO Peter Hoang talked about financial inclusion through crypto. Also, the NFT project – SNK ATK – is underway.

Finally, we completed our NFT and Law series based on our community interview with Atty. Rafael Padilla. You can all check them out here:

Finally, a meme: