Blockchain associations from Australia and five Southeast Asian nations are joining forces to promote blockchain development and education. Blockchain organizations from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday to promote blockchain collaboration in the Asia Pacific, Business Times reports. Initiated by Blockchain Association Singapore, or BAS, the MoU aims to engage with regulators to ensure legal compliance alongside raising industry awareness and education through a new blockchain consortium called the ASEAN Blockchain Consortium, or ABC. The ABC includes BAS, Blockchain Australia, Distributed Ledger Technology Association of the Philippines, Malaysia’s Labuan International Business and …

One of Southeast Asia’s biggest crypto exchanges is blaming a technical glitch for the price of Bitcoin dropping down to 300,000 Philippine pesos, roughly $6,100, on Feb. 16. An unknown number of customers of the Philippine Digital Assets Exchange, or PDAX, managed to buy thousands of Bitcoin (BTC) from the exchange at a massive discount, making them local currency billionaires on paper — at least for a few hours. A number of PDAX customers withdrew their purchased Bitcoin up to the exchange’s limit on individual accounts of 1 BTC per 24 hours. PDAX is reportedly demanding these users refund BTC …

Data published by statistics firm Statista has revealed Nigeria is the leading country per capita for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption, with nearly one in three survey respondents indicating they used or owned crypto assets in 2020. According to the survey, the pre-existing prevalence of mobile phone based peer-to-peer payments has led many Nigerians to explore cryptocurrency. Statista noted that many Nigeria responded they had recently installed crypto payment applications on their devices. The findings also note that many Nigerians are exploring crypto assets for international remittances. Adoption in the country shows no signs of slowing, with demand for crypto assets …

In keeping with the emergence of clear-cut crypto regulations across Southeast Asia, Philippines’ central bank, BSP, has enacted a broader licensing regime for digital asset firms in the country. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, all crypto financial service firms in the country must now be licensed by the BSP. Thus, exchanges dealing in crypto-to-crypto trading pairs and custody platforms must now obtain approval from the central bank. The expanded regulatory regime also covers cryptocurrency derivatives platforms. All crypto firms in the country will also have to comply with global financial best practices including Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing …

Philippine central bank governor Benjamin Diokno has announced that the institution's "exploratory" study of central bank digital currency study suggests that much more work is needed to make a digital peso a reality. During the summer, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had confirmed it was investigating the feasibility and potential policy implications of issuing its own CBDC, or digital counterpart to the physical peso. In a press briefing, Diokno reportedly rejected the possibility that a CBDC could be issued any time in the near future. The study so far has suggested that ongoing research is needed to look into capacity-building and …

The Philippine central bank sees digital tokens as a means to reduce the use of fiat money and improve the delivery of financial services in the country, even as the country is still studying its own digital currency. Speaking to Bloomberg, Philippine central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, or BSP, governor Benjamin Diokno said digital tokens “expand reach and lessen costs of financial services” as well as reduce the use of fiat money. Diokno said digital tokens improve how the central bank provides financial services to citizens. The Philippines is one of the country’s studying the launch of its own …

The Philippines SEC has released an official warning about Bitcoin (BTC) “cloud mining” company Mining City, advising the public to steer clear of the scheme and others like it. Despite the official condemnation, the price of a related cryptocurrency is on the rise. The warning describes the company as an unlicensed entity in the country and said it was not functioning “in accordance with guidelines for virtual currency exchanges,” stating: “The aforementioned scheme used by Mining City clearly shows an indication of a possible Ponzi scheme in which new investor money is used to pay ‘bogus profits’ to those who …

A full month after the Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission flagged Forsage as a likely Ponzi, it remains the second-most popular Ethereum DApp on internet rankings. As of Aug. 6, Forsage has 390,000 users and a turnover of $3.11 million per 24 hours — despite being marked in dappstat.com rankings as “high risk.” Speaking to Cointelegraph in July — weeks after the SEC’s official warning — Miguel Cuneta, the co-founder of Phillipine fintech Satoshi Citadel Industries — wrote: “I received numerous inquiries from friends and family about Forsage and 'investing' in Ethereum just within the last month or so. People …

The Philippines has become the latest country to look at the possibility of releasing its own central bank digital currency, or CBDC. According to a report by Bloomberg, July 29, the Philippine central bank, or Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, or BSP as it is known locally, has formed a committee to consider the implication of such a move. In a virtual briefing, Governor Benjamin Diokno explained that the group was initially just looking at the feasibility and potential policy implications of issuing a digital currency. “We have to first look at the findings of the group before making a decision.” …

Half a dozen emerging markets have established new records for weekly peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin (BTC) trading, including India, Ghana, the Philippines, Argentina, Mexico and Egypt, according to data published by Useful Tulips. India comprised the strongest market to post a new record for trade activity, with $3.4 million worth of BTC trading hands over the past seven days. India’s P2P markets began gaining significant momentum from the second quarter onwards, with Indian volume beating out its December 2017 all-time high of $2.95 million last month before consistently rallying above $3 million this month. African P2P markets continue to show strength …

On July 19, the Philippine Bureau of the Treasury along with the UnionBank and Philippine Digital Asset Exchange launched a blockchain-enabled mobile application for distributing government-issued treasury bonds. According to local news outlet Inquirer.Net, the president and CEO of UnionBank, Edwin R. Bautista, claimed it was Asia’s “first retail treasury bond issuance to leverage on blockchain technology.” Bringing bonds investment to the unbanked According to estimates, almost 77% of adults in the Philippines still do not possess a bank account. The mobile application dubbed Bonds.PH is particularly aimed at providing easy investment options to the unbanked population of the country. …

Two related cryptocurrency firms have fallen foul of United States financial regulators for entering into illegal off-exchange swaps in digital assets and foreign currency. On July 13, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued an order filing and settling charges against the two firms. The same day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with the respondents ahead of instituting its own cease-and-desist proceedings. Misconduct and settlement with the SEC The two respondents operate from Manila in the Philippines and Mountain View, California, and are named “Plutus Technologies Philippines Corporation” and …