This is a summary of a report by the Ethereum Foundation on the ETH ecosystem in the Philippines.
The Philippines is solidifying its position as a leading force in global crypto adoption, driven by real-world needs like remittances, income generation, and financial access, rather than just speculation. With an estimated 12+ million Filipino users in 2025, the country consistently ranks in the global top 10 for crypto adoption indices.
The Engines of Adoption: Gaming and the Unbanked
The country’s widespread crypto literacy and wallet usage were catalyzed by the “Axie Effect.” In 2021, Play-to-Earn (P2E) gaming served as the first mass-scale Web3 on-ramp, with nearly 40% of Axie Infinity’s global players being Filipino at its peak. While the initial hype has cooled, the habits and cultural familiarity with Web3 infrastructure remain strong.
This adoption is supported by deep structural realities:
- Remittance Powerhouse: Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) sent approximately $38.34 billion in remittances in 2024. Stablecoins are emerging as a viable alternative to traditional channels, with platforms launching stablecoin-based remittance rails that can convert overseas transfers into USDC/USDT and allow instant peso cashouts, potentially cutting transfer fees by around 80%.
- The Unbanked Opportunity: With an estimated 49.8% of the population unbanked or underbanked, crypto infrastructure—including wallets, stablecoins, and tokenized savings products—offers a critical alternative to traditional banking barriers. Digital payments already account for roughly 57.4% of retail transactions, providing fertile ground for further integration.
Government and Enterprise Embrace of Ethereum
Despite persistent regulatory uncertainty—including the BSP’s VASP moratorium and SEC actions against major offshore exchanges—real-world blockchain pilots demonstrate increasing capacity for innovation.
Key instances of blockchain adoption include:
- UnionBank’s Project i2i: Launched in 2018, this was an early example of enterprise Ethereum adoption, connecting rural banks to the national financial system using a ConsenSys-developed, Ethereum-based platform.
- Tokenized Treasury Bonds: The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), in partnership with PDAX and GCash, has issued government bonds as tokenized assets. This initiative allows users to buy government bonds for as little as $\text{PHP } 500$ (approximately $9), democratizing access to assets that previously required a bank account and much higher minimum investments.
- Transparency Initiatives: The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) uses a system that secures documents into NFTs on Polygon, enabling citizens to instantly verify their authenticity and enhance public trust in government financial transactions.
The Ecosystem and the Developer Gap
The Philippines boasts a robust ecosystem of regulated VASPs (like GCash, Coins.ph, Maya, and PDAX) that serve as fiat-crypto on-ramps. This centralized infrastructure is complemented by a growing grassroots community, led by groups like Ethereum Philippines (ETHPH), which drives developer workshops and educational programs across the country.
However, the country faces a significant blockchain developer gap despite its large software developer base. This is attributed to factors like trading culture overshadowing builder culture, limited blockchain education in university curricula, and brain drain to other stable tech fields like AI and cybersecurity.
Ultimately, the Ethereum opportunity in the Philippines remains massive, focusing on bridging the infrastructure gap for DeFi, real-world assets (RWA), and stablecoins to truly capitalize on a digitally literate, high-adoption market.