National Treasurer Sharon Almanza expressed optimism on the big leap in the tokenization of government securities, as only around 0.01 percent of trillion-pesos worth of government securities are currently tokenized,
In an interview after the launch of the white paper dubbed “Project Bayani: The Philippines’ Asset Tokenization Opportunity” in Taguig City on Thursday, Almanza said only around P1 billion worth of government securities, offered through bonds.ph mobile app, is currently tokenized, or in digital token form available on a blockchain.
The white paper, launched by the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), Saison Capital, and Onigiri Capital, estimates the country’s tokenized-asset market, which include government bonds, mutual funds, and equities among others, to reach $60 billion by 2030.
According to the research, about 14 percent of Filipinos already own cryptocurrencies, higher than the less 5 percent who invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds funds.
This, as mobile wallets such as GCash, PDAX, Maya, and Coins.ph offer embedded blockchain-enabled wallets and products with a minimum placement of P500.
The Bureau of the Treasury has partnered with PDAX and GCash to offer government bonds through their mobile platforms and this has allowed more people to invest in government securities.
Citing data based on the weekly report of PDAX, Almanza said there are already more than 400,000 users in the bonds.ph app, but this is still small compared to the universe of the government securities already issued.
“There’s really potential, yes. It’s encouraging when I see the report every week,” she said.
Almanza, in a panel discussion during the event, said her wish it so have at least five additional banks with digital presence to take part in offering tokenized government securities by 2026.
PDAX founder and chief executive officer Michel Gaba, during the event, said the country has a unique advantage in securities tokenization since blockchain wallets are already being offered here.
“We’re not starting from scratch. The infrastructure to deliver tokenized assets to million of Filipinos already exists in their pockets. Our focus now is to connect that infrastructure to real, regulated financial products,” he said.
Gaba said regulation is not the issue but education of the investing public is, thus the need to teach them more about this mode of investment so that adoption follows.
PNA PHOTO
