Philippines: Bitcoin in the Philippines

            By: Joseph Seabra

            Bitcoin is an internet-based cryptocurrency that was created in 2009 by an unknown individual “using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto” (Yellin, Aratari, Pagliery). Although the online currency is still in its infancy due to the upregulation of the currency, its inability for taxation, and its hold of anonymity for users the currency has faced some backlash and increased regulations. As of late countries such as “Japan, China and Australia have begun weighing regulations” (Yellin, Aratari, Pagliery).

            This currency does not require a bank in order to be held, and because of this and its large inflation in the past few years has become extremely popular around the world. Bitcoin has become increasingly popular in many of the southeastern Asian countries and has had a large impact in the Philippines. This spread of bitcoin in the Philippines is evident with every 7-Eleven convenience station in the Philippines selling bitcoin. According to an article by Cointelegraph on September 18th, 2019 the company ABRA made a partnership with multiple retail chains that “will bring crypto to 6,000 retail outlets across the Philippines, including all 7-Eleven stores.” (Zmudzinski, 2019). It is evident that a move towards cryptocurrency such as bitcoin is being pushed within the Philippines though it would be interesting to see its success given the countries geographical and financial division.

    Bitcoin Philippines (zervoulakos, 2016)

             A large financial barrier to the spread of Bitcoin across the Philippines is that the average salary of someone living in the Philippines is approximately 10,500 PHP (2019). This conversion into United States currency is the equivalent of only around $202.00 USD. According to the Bitcoin Website where cryptocurrency can be purchased and traded, one Bitcoin is equivalent to 433397.37 PHP (2019). This average monthly income is extremely low when considering the current price of Bitcoin, and it can be assumed that there will be a minimal amount of interested people who invest into this cryptocurrency. When these numbers are compared the drastic difference between monthly income in the Philippines and the cost for one Bitcoin becomes evident. If a Filipino worker making the countries average monthly income wanted to purchase one Bitcoin, it would take them just under three years to purchase one assuming they spend none of that money throughout those 3 years. Therefore, it can be determined that given the large financial barrier for entering the Bitcoin market, this currency will not become commonly used or have a large user base in the Philippines. I do not want these numbers to discourage the idea that the Philippines is still a country that is growing both in its infrastructure and technology. Throughout the world there has a been a slow entry into the use of the cryptocurrency, with many potential investors facing a large financial barrier of entry. Even in Countries such as the United States which has a mean income per capita of $48,150 many people are not investing in the online currency would currently cost just under a quarter of a year’s wage (Amadeo, 2019).

References

Amadeo, K. (2019). Average Income in the USA by Family and Household: Why Incomes Haven't Recovered From the Great Recession. In thebalance.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-average-income-in-usa-family-household-history-3306189

Yellin, T., Aratari, D., Pagliery, J. What is Bitcoin?. In CNN: Money. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://money.cnn.com/infographic/technology/what-is-bitcoin/index.html

Zervoulakos. (Publisher). (2016). Bitcoin Philippines .jpg. Retrieved from  http://zervoulakos.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IMG_20160728_160906.jpg  

Zmudzinski, A. (2019). All 7-Eleven Stores Across the Philippines Now Sell Bitcoin. In COINTELEGRAPH: The Future of Money. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://cointelegraph.com/news/all-7-eleven-stores-across-the-philippines-now-sell-bitcoin

(2019). Philippines Average Nominal Wages. In TradingEconomics.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://tradingeconomics.com/philippines/wages

(2019). Buy Bitcoin in the Philippines. In BitcoinPhilippines.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://bitcoin.ph/