Phillipines

6.13% of Filipinos own cryptocurrency

How many cryptocurrency owners are there in the Philippines?

It is estimated that nearly 7 million Filipinos, or 6.13% of the total population, own cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency Market Sentiment in the Philippines

The cryptocurrency scene in the Philippines has been blooming by leaps and bounds, as reflected in Chainalysis’s Global Cryptocurrencies Adoption Index 2022, where it now ranks second, only behind its ASEAN neighbour, Vietnam. As a country with the world’s largest remittance markets, the Philippines is home to Coins.ph, Rebit.ph, and Bitmarket.ph, who have led the financial revolution and modernisation of the Philippines’ financial industry in recent years. The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies has not gone unnoticed, as the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has announced it intends to launch a wholesale central bank cryptocurrency (CBDC) project in the final quarter of 2022. This project is in line with the country’s goal to transition to digital payments.

Furthermore, the Philippines welcomes its new president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is widely known as an advocate of digital and technological innovation. Marcos Jr. emphasised “the need to adopt emerging technologies that could eventually pave the way for cryptocurrencies' adoption to expand further soon”. Likewise, the government and central bank have already begun working with experts to monitor and adequately track financial institutions utilising blockchain or cryptocurrency technology, so as to facilitate a safer environment for their investors, stakeholders, and citizens.

Philippines cryptocurrencies ownership demographics

As of 2022, Filipino men are 1.7x more likely than women to own cryptocurrencies, with 63% of Filipino cryptocurrency owners estimated to be men. To no surprise, Bitcoin tops the list as the most commonly owned cryptocurrency, with an estimated 37% of Filipino cryptocurrency owners owning Bitcoin. Lastly, almost half of Filipino cryptocurrencies owners lie in the 18-34 years age bracket (46%) while 35% are aged 35-54 years old.

Cryptocurrencies’ rising popularity in the Philippines

    • The Philippines is Asia’s ‘Blockchain Hub’. Where does India stand? – September 2022
      The Philippines has further established its prominence as a blockchain hub in Asia, aiming to create the “Cryptocurrencies Valley of Asia” in Cagayan Valley. It aims to mimic Aug in Switzerland, the birthplace of Ethereum, which is now home to almost 200 blockchain companies. With this Cryptocurrencies Valley initiative, the government hopes to encourage the next generation to pursue careers in tech-related industries to boost the country’s economic standing.
    • For Cash-reliant Filipinos, trust in FinTech is growing – February 2022
      According to UOB’s Fintech in ASEAN 2021 report, the Philippines is still a cash-reliant country, but there has been a steady, positive increase in the adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital payments. Additionally, Filipinos have one of the highest levels of trust in cryptocurrency among ASEAN countries (48%), with statistics showing that one in three Filipinos uses cryptocurrency exchanges. The Philippines Fintech Report 2022 estimated that the value of cryptocurrency transactions from 2019 to 2020 increased almost fourfold to US$1.5 billion, with a volume of 7.2 million transactions.