Executive of the Blockchain Council of the Philippines, Dr. Donald Lim, anticipates a future where the country becomes the ‘blockchain capital of Asia’, following the significant interest in crypto adoption and blockchain projects. According to Lim, the Philippines boasts several key factors making it a favorable environment for crypto and blockchain: a young, technologically savvy population; a proactive government; and a recent precedent set by a successful blockchain-based game, Axie Infinity, much-loved by locals.
In 2021, the play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain game Axie Infinity skyrocketed in popularity in the country, with estimates showing nearly 40% of the game’s player base originated from the Philippines. This substantial figure, Lim postulates, could be indicative of the high receptivity of the populous toward Web3 concepts, including establishing crypto wallets.
Commensurate with the rise of the P2E game’s popularity was the upsurge of global businesses expressing interest in setting up projects in the country. According to Lim, the government’s open, encouraging stance toward crypto and blockchain projects greatly augments the attractiveness of the country to international organizations. Moreover, the executive believes that the Philippines’ demographic plays a notable role in this equation, ensuring that any blockchain or Web3 project has the optimal opportunity to thrive in the country.
Despite this optimism, Lim remains cautiously skeptical about the feasibility of an entirely Bitcoin- or crypto-based lifestyle in the Philippines, deeming it a distant eventuality rather than a near-term reality. Lim acknowledges that while crypto will always serve as a viable option, it’s likely only in a few years—once the entire infrastructure has developed adequately—that it may dictate everyday activities, including payments, the buying of nonfungible tokens, and interaction with the metaverse.
A comprehensive adoption of crypto could, as per the executive’s projections, furnish the country’s populace with a novel frontier of financial independence and self-sovereignty. However, for these projections to transpire in actuality, the prevalent infrastructure supporting these technologies must mature, evolve, and become more widely accepted – an undertaking necessitating concerted interdisciplinary effort and collaboration.
Thus far, the growth trajectory of cryptocurrencies indicates a promising future favoring the executive’s aspirations. Only time, however, will reveal the extent to which these projections echo future reality. The determining factors? The rate of infrastructure development, the pace of technological adoption, and the extent of government support for crypto and blockchain projects.
Source: Cointelegraph
