Coins.ph adds Bitcoin and Ethereum to national QR Ph, reaching 700,000 Filipino traders

The Evolution of the Philippines QR Ph Network

Integration of digital assets into the Philippines’ national quick response (QR) code network expands to include volatile cryptocurrencies alongside the dollar stable coinssignaling an evolution in how emerging markets use digital currencies for everyday retail commerce.

After a first deployment in April which linked the stable coins USDT and USDC to the country’s standardized QR Ph network, local digital wallet provider Coins.ph has expanded the infrastructure to support bitcoin and Ethereum. Expansion allows consumers to spend at once stable coins and the two biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization through a network of nearly 700,000 traders nationwide.

Initial data from the first weeks of the program showed thousands of retail transactions totaling millions of Philippine pesos. According to Coins.ph, transaction logs reflect diversified consumer spending habits rather than niche or luxury purchases, with users deploying digital balances for grocery checkouts, tuition payments, and home appliance purchases.

Infrastructure relies on real-time back-end liquidations to navigate price volatility associated with non- stable coin assets. Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, credited the mechanism with protecting consumers and traders from real-time market fluctuations.

“The real ‘Aha!’ The moment for our community comes when they realize they no longer need to manually sell their crypto first to a PHP balance,” said Zhou. “This automation removes the psychological barrier of cashing out, allowing stable coins to finally function like real money rather than just a speculative trading pair.

The Crypto-Native Earner Use Case

Zhou noted that the inclusion of bitcoin and Ethereum revealed a separate case of dual use in the domestic market. While a significant portion of the population continues to treat cryptocurrencies as bitcoin as long-term speculative investments, an emerging segment of crypto-native earners, including freelancers, remote workers, and gig economy participants, are using the direct spend feature to bypass multi-step fiat conversion pipelines.

Fintech analysts view the interoperability milestone as a critical test for the commercial viability of digital currencies in regions characterized by high remittance volumes and large unbanked populations. By integrating digital assets directly into a state-backed payments framework, regional fintech companies seek to scale cryptocurrencies from investment portfolios to functional, friction-reducing retail tools.

The initiative highlights a rapidly evolving regulatory environment for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in the country. In a recently released memorandum, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) strengthened its oversight by ordering VASPs to implement stricter standards of screening, monitoring and delisting of all tokens and coins offered to local consumers.

The central bank directive mandates a robust due diligence process based on six key pillars: issuer history, market maturity, use cases, transparency, traceability and security, as well as legal compliance. Additionally, the BSP banned anonymity-enhancing privacy tokens and required platforms to set strict thresholds to trigger immediate suspension or delisting of assets in the event of adverse market events, cybersecurity threats, or regulatory non-compliance.

This changing baseline contrasts with the historical environment that allowed early retail integrations to take shape.

“In markets where restrictions are increasing, we are taking an engagement-driven approach, working closely with local authorities to demonstrate how a transparent blockchain-based system truly improves anti-money laundering and consumer protection efforts,” Zhou said. “Regardless of jurisdiction, our goal is to maintain a compliance-focused DNA that adapts to local nuances, ensuring we always operate as a responsible gateway to the digital economy.

The newly enforced BSP guidelines place particular emphasis on digital assets backed by fiat currencies, requiring service providers to strictly evaluate the minting, issuance, redemption and verifiability of reserves. stable coins to maintain public trust.

This increased scrutiny has a direct impact on localized digital asset pipelines. Coins.ph recently completed the testing phase of its Philippine peso-backed fund. stable coin (PHPC) within the BSP regulatory sandbox. The company intends to list PHPC alongside foreign options such as USDT and USDC within the domestic QR Ph ecosystem.

Looking Ahead: Institutional Proof of Concept

According to Zhou, the company is currently in the final stages of obtaining the necessary approvals from the central bank to officially exit the sandbox. Subject to these approvals, the domestic asset is positioned to serve as the primary retail settlement tool.

“While USDT and USDC provide our users with excellent exposure to dollar-backed stability, PHPC will serve as a natural bridge for local commerce by eliminating the foreign exchange gaps typically associated with dollar-pegged assets,” Zhou said.

Regulatory alignment with the central bank-backed QR Ph network served as a proof of concept for partner companies. However, the deployment demonstrates that direct crypto spend can be increased within existing compliance and point-of-sale systems, reducing structural barriers for institutional payments businesses evaluating blockchain-based retail infrastructure.

Although transaction volumes represent only a small fraction of the overall domestic electronic payments market, market regulators and participants continue to monitor spending patterns and liquidity demands to assess the impact of broader retail integration on consumer financial behavior under a stricter supervisory framework.