Philippine Stock Exchange Eyes Cryptocurrency Trading As Crypto Adoption Rises

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the national stock exchange of the Philippines, is reportedly looking to allow cryptocurrency trading on the exchange as soon as regulators give the green light.

According to the report from CNN Philippines, PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon shared that the PSE should be the exchange platform for cryptocurrency assets.

"If there should be any exchange for cryptos, it should be done at the PSE. Why? Number one, it’s because we have the trading infrastructure. But more important, we’ll be able to have investor protection safeguards especially with a product like crypto," Ramon told CNN Philippines.

Ramon added further that the PSE unfortunately is not in a position to do that now "kasi wala pa tayong rules from the regulator eh (because we don’t have rules yet from the regulator)”. The PSE is waiting for the rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on how crypto or digital asset trading will be governed.

In Philippines, there are currently 17 cryptocurrency exchange registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines.

PSE President and CEO Ramon's comment is probably a sign of frustration on how slow the regulators are moving with regards to cryptocurrency trading. As the crypto adoption increases among Filipinos, the Philippine Stock Exchange is missing out on potential revenue possibilities from this new asset class.

In recent weeks, crypto has seen a huge awareness rise in the Philippines. This is fueled by the rise of the play-to-earn phenomenon catalyzed by non-fungible token (NFT) games such as Axie Infinity.

This “play-to-earn” movement is an emerging phenomenon in gaming, where players collect in game rewards which can be converted to real cash.

Though this form of cryptocurrency has been around for a few years, it reached new heights during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with ensuing lockdowns rendering millions jobless and open to earning money through gaming.