PH Blockchain Week 2025 highlights growth and well-being in Web3
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The Philippine Blockchain Week is back to tackle initiatives in a serious manner with industry movers and the government on Day 2 of the iconic blockchain event at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Global and local experts in the tech space engaged in a day filled with regulatory, innovative, and action-packed discussions.
Leading Day 2 was a cultural dance performance by the Philippines Tourism Promotion Board themed on loving the Philippines, which ignited the day before moving forward with an opening spiel from the event hosts: Aya De Quiroz, Maria Saab, and Muneer Al Busaidi. (Left to Right): Maria Saab, Muneer Al Busaidi, and Aya De Quiroz.
What really kicked started the conversation was the short but meaningful opening remarks from Janelle Barretto, co-founder of the Philippine Blockchain Week. Baretto recapped the highlights of Day 1 and reminded the audience of their journey in bringing blockchain into the Philippines. This was followed by keynote speeches about blockchain's financial infrastructure from Venom's Christopher Tsu and the 'humannness' in the age of AI from World Foundation's Fabian Bodensteiner.
'The Philippine Blockchain Week is an event; it is a platform, but we have a huge responsibility on our shoulders. We took this on [despite being] normal people who have visions, who have passion, and dedication of pushing the agenda to the Philippines and take it to the next level,' Baretto said in her speech.
'We are a great country with a 20 million population, tech-savvy, energetic, talented, and we're just right to be the hub of everything. We just wanted the world to take notice… we've seen how far we've come… and in such a short time, we've come a long way, yet we still have a lot of potential. That's what all these are all about: unlocking the potential of blockchain in the Philippines and bringing it to the masses.' Philippine Blockchain Week's Co-Founder Janelle Barretto.
The PH's digital ecosystem voiced by Filipino exchanges shaping Web3
The day's first panel discussion was moderated by Benjamin Finnigan of B3C Capital, joined by the three representatives of the country's most prominent Web3 players: GCash, Maya, and Coins.ph.
In this discussion, titled 'The Homegrown Hustle: Filipino Exchanges Shaping Web3,' Coins.ph's Country Manager, Jen Bilango; Maya's Head of Growth and Product Strategy/Head of Invest Alvin Wong; and GCash Head of Cryptocurrencies, Luis Buenaventura, touched on the measures and challenges each platforms are taking to cater digital currencies safely and securely to the Filipinos.
Delving into security and transparency issues post the FTX dilemma and the crypto winter, Buenaventura says that GCash—as the new kid in the block—maintains a safety protocol and is regulatory compliant. Still, despite this, he reiterated the importance of vigilance and users' due diligence in the space, which was agreed upon by Wong. Meanwhile, Bilango focused on their users' education (Left to Right): Benjamin Finnigan, Alvin Wong, Jen Bilango, and Luis Buenaventura.
'One of the things that we're really big on is education. Do not trust people [who ask you] to give them your OTP,' she noted. Bilango also mentioned setting up a threshold that allows users to specify a daily transaction amount.
On the question of investment and blockchain adoption, however, Buenaventura claimed that the Philippines is leapfrogging to mobile wallet adoption amid the failed credit card penetration in the country. The GCash head of cryptocurrencies believes wallets are 'way more robust' in terms of financial inclusion and bringing digital currencies closer to Filipinos. As for Bilango and Wong, education and financial literacy must be the top priority before moving forward with investing and adoption.
'The job is mostly to figure out what kind of blockchain projects are out there that would be a good fit in the local market [and] the culture,' Buenaventura remarked.
Remembering well-being and mental wealth in this Web3 world
Still lingering around the issues of adopting digital currencies, Day 2 touched on an important aspect and probably a controversial issue in the industry: customers' mental well-being.
In this discussion, also moderated by Finnigan, Dr. Neeta Bhushan of Dharma Coaching Institute, Erwin Valencia of Mastery, and transformational speaker and coach Sanaiyah Gurnamal viewed the human aspect of Web3 and how users can avoid the FOMO culture in a volatile space like cryptocurrencies. (Left to Right): Erwin Valencia, Sanaiyah Gurnamal, Dr. Neeta Bhushan, and Benjamin Finnigan.
Their collective conclusion is most popular digital currency firms capitalize on the vulnerability and peer pressure of delving into the digital currency space, so despite the trend, the three experts reminded everyone of the following:
– Regulate your mental health and nervous system in dealing with the space
– Have enough bandwidth for research before diving into Cryptocurrencies
'You should always focus on the 'Why am I doing this?' When you get lost, when the FOMO kicks in, when it gets too busy, or when you're high on all of these things happening, remember the reason why you are doing this, and remind yourself why you would stay on course,' Gurnamal said.
Dissecting the CASP: A discussion in regulatory compliance
On a more serious note, the PBW 2025 also looked into the new guidelines and what's under the thematic sandbox for CASP or crypto-asset service providers. Attorney Mark Gorriceta and Attorney Paolo Ong had a one-on-one discussion dissecting what it is and how it can affect the local digital asset economy in the long run. (Left & Right): Attorney Mark Gorriceta and Attorney Paolo Ong.
CASP is an initiative by the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the SEC Memorandum Circulars Nos. 4 and 5. This new rule defines digital assets like cryptocurrencies as a 'digitally secured form of value' running on the blockchain. Atty. Ong noted that not all assets are classified as securities; some are considered financial products that fall under the regulation of the SEC. He explained that the SEC concentrates on three key areas: market conduct, training activities, and marketing.
'We intend the rules to be frictionless to current VASP licensees,' Ong said.
Some requirements he shared for obtaining a CASP license include:
– Proper registration in the Philippines– Minimal capital requirement
– Segregation of customers from exchange funds
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Coin Geek
6 hours ago
- Coin Geek
PH Blockchain Week 2025 highlights growth and well-being in Web3
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The Philippine Blockchain Week is back to tackle initiatives in a serious manner with industry movers and the government on Day 2 of the iconic blockchain event at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Global and local experts in the tech space engaged in a day filled with regulatory, innovative, and action-packed discussions. Leading Day 2 was a cultural dance performance by the Philippines Tourism Promotion Board themed on loving the Philippines, which ignited the day before moving forward with an opening spiel from the event hosts: Aya De Quiroz, Maria Saab, and Muneer Al Busaidi. (Left to Right): Maria Saab, Muneer Al Busaidi, and Aya De Quiroz. What really kicked started the conversation was the short but meaningful opening remarks from Janelle Barretto, co-founder of the Philippine Blockchain Week. Baretto recapped the highlights of Day 1 and reminded the audience of their journey in bringing blockchain into the Philippines. This was followed by keynote speeches about blockchain's financial infrastructure from Venom's Christopher Tsu and the 'humannness' in the age of AI from World Foundation's Fabian Bodensteiner. 'The Philippine Blockchain Week is an event; it is a platform, but we have a huge responsibility on our shoulders. We took this on [despite being] normal people who have visions, who have passion, and dedication of pushing the agenda to the Philippines and take it to the next level,' Baretto said in her speech. 'We are a great country with a 20 million population, tech-savvy, energetic, talented, and we're just right to be the hub of everything. We just wanted the world to take notice… we've seen how far we've come… and in such a short time, we've come a long way, yet we still have a lot of potential. That's what all these are all about: unlocking the potential of blockchain in the Philippines and bringing it to the masses.' Philippine Blockchain Week's Co-Founder Janelle Barretto. The PH's digital ecosystem voiced by Filipino exchanges shaping Web3 The day's first panel discussion was moderated by Benjamin Finnigan of B3C Capital, joined by the three representatives of the country's most prominent Web3 players: GCash, Maya, and In this discussion, titled 'The Homegrown Hustle: Filipino Exchanges Shaping Web3,' Country Manager, Jen Bilango; Maya's Head of Growth and Product Strategy/Head of Invest Alvin Wong; and GCash Head of Cryptocurrencies, Luis Buenaventura, touched on the measures and challenges each platforms are taking to cater digital currencies safely and securely to the Filipinos. Delving into security and transparency issues post the FTX dilemma and the crypto winter, Buenaventura says that GCash—as the new kid in the block—maintains a safety protocol and is regulatory compliant. Still, despite this, he reiterated the importance of vigilance and users' due diligence in the space, which was agreed upon by Wong. Meanwhile, Bilango focused on their users' education (Left to Right): Benjamin Finnigan, Alvin Wong, Jen Bilango, and Luis Buenaventura. 'One of the things that we're really big on is education. Do not trust people [who ask you] to give them your OTP,' she noted. Bilango also mentioned setting up a threshold that allows users to specify a daily transaction amount. On the question of investment and blockchain adoption, however, Buenaventura claimed that the Philippines is leapfrogging to mobile wallet adoption amid the failed credit card penetration in the country. The GCash head of cryptocurrencies believes wallets are 'way more robust' in terms of financial inclusion and bringing digital currencies closer to Filipinos. As for Bilango and Wong, education and financial literacy must be the top priority before moving forward with investing and adoption. 'The job is mostly to figure out what kind of blockchain projects are out there that would be a good fit in the local market [and] the culture,' Buenaventura remarked. Remembering well-being and mental wealth in this Web3 world Still lingering around the issues of adopting digital currencies, Day 2 touched on an important aspect and probably a controversial issue in the industry: customers' mental well-being. In this discussion, also moderated by Finnigan, Dr. Neeta Bhushan of Dharma Coaching Institute, Erwin Valencia of Mastery, and transformational speaker and coach Sanaiyah Gurnamal viewed the human aspect of Web3 and how users can avoid the FOMO culture in a volatile space like cryptocurrencies. (Left to Right): Erwin Valencia, Sanaiyah Gurnamal, Dr. Neeta Bhushan, and Benjamin Finnigan. Their collective conclusion is most popular digital currency firms capitalize on the vulnerability and peer pressure of delving into the digital currency space, so despite the trend, the three experts reminded everyone of the following: – Regulate your mental health and nervous system in dealing with the space – Have enough bandwidth for research before diving into Cryptocurrencies 'You should always focus on the 'Why am I doing this?' When you get lost, when the FOMO kicks in, when it gets too busy, or when you're high on all of these things happening, remember the reason why you are doing this, and remind yourself why you would stay on course,' Gurnamal said. Dissecting the CASP: A discussion in regulatory compliance On a more serious note, the PBW 2025 also looked into the new guidelines and what's under the thematic sandbox for CASP or crypto-asset service providers. Attorney Mark Gorriceta and Attorney Paolo Ong had a one-on-one discussion dissecting what it is and how it can affect the local digital asset economy in the long run. (Left & Right): Attorney Mark Gorriceta and Attorney Paolo Ong. CASP is an initiative by the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the SEC Memorandum Circulars Nos. 4 and 5. This new rule defines digital assets like cryptocurrencies as a 'digitally secured form of value' running on the blockchain. Atty. Ong noted that not all assets are classified as securities; some are considered financial products that fall under the regulation of the SEC. He explained that the SEC concentrates on three key areas: market conduct, training activities, and marketing. 'We intend the rules to be frictionless to current VASP licensees,' Ong said. Some requirements he shared for obtaining a CASP license include: – Proper registration in the Philippines– Minimal capital requirement – Segregation of customers from exchange funds
BBC News
10 hours ago
- BBC News
How could politics shape the Scotland of 2050?
Scotland's politicians are all pretty focused on 2026 right now, with a Holyrood election less than a year should they be concentrating on longer-term objectives - and what Scotland could look like in 2050?A conference in Edinburgh invited leaders to think beyond the short-termism of the five-year electoral in an era where many voters feel politicians are all the same, perhaps we can learn more about their policies via their ultimate vision for the country. Scotland and the world are likely to be largely unrecognisable by back at the last 25 years and think about how the way we work, communicate, socialise and navigate our way through our lives has advances are a massive part of this. At the turn of the millennium you had to ask your mum to get off the landline phone so you could use the dial-up the WiFi hub connected to every other item in the house is probably the only thing plugged into that phone that change is not slowing down - it is accelerating exponentially. Algorithms already help decide what we watch on TV, who we date, and what content scrolls through our social media it so hard to imagine that in a few years' time they'll be driving our cars, diagnosing our illnesses and managing our financial markets?Politicians are always very keen to talk about new technology; nobody wants to be left Scottish government is going to set up its own AI agency to make sure innovations are shared across the public is Scotland well placed to forge into a new digital future?At Scotland 2050, Michael McLaughlin from legal firm Shoosmiths talked about a "massive skills gap" in recently represented a company looking to hire 70 developers for a big tech project; they ended up finding 85% of them argues that politicians and the private sector need to "get round the table and decide what we want to be good at in 25 years' time" - to prioritise four or five sectors and encourage and train people to work in Spowage from the Fraser of Allander Institute also urged leaders to focus on the economic strengths we already have - like financial services and world-class universities - rather than chasing fads. If there was one theme which came from the business leaders involved in the event, it was the need for consistency and policy certainty. Firms simply will not invest in jobs, infrastructure or training without that investment and growing the economy is a priority shared by all political parties. But it is striking how different their approaches are to achieving SNP has long had big government at its heart, proudly championing universal allowances, interventions in the lives of citizens and in the market and higher taxes to pay for contrast the Conservatives are more keen to slim down the size of the state while cutting taxes and "red tape".Meanwhile Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar popped up at the conference to argue for something in the middle - cutting taxes, but replacing that with income from economic growth which would maintain public intelligence is a key example of a buzzword field which politicians love to talk about, but which will need a concerted effort to use in a joined-up point about skills and focus is an important one, given finite resources - but the conference also heard that there are opportunities which could be Airey from German energy giant EnBW pointed out that Scotland produces more energy than it uses, but that the current state of the national grid makes it hard to transfer it down that infrastructure is a UK government priority, but Mr Airey suggested that Scotland could also look to house power-hungry AI data centres, which are best located in cold could put us at the heart of an industry set for exponential growth - and the excess heat from the servers could even be funnelled to nearby homes and businesses. Using Scotland's potential for renewable energy production as a cornerstone of the economy of 2050 was also highlighted by John Swinney, with the first minister suggesting it could lead to cheaper food production as well as products being made closer to offered a vision of "energy rich Scotland meaning energy rich Scots".Energy and climate more generally is certainly an area where the Scottish government has set ambitious goals - although it has also routinely fallen short of insist they are still on track to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045 - five years ahead of the UK government goal of on from fossil fuels will represent a seismic change - the oil industry still provides tens of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of economic activity; household energy prices are set based on the price of will have plenty of knock-on effects too, like the move to electric cars. The sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles is to be phased out by 2035, so by 2050 there will be next to none left on the is well-placed to tap into alternative forms of energy, with a wealth of renewable potential from wind and wave this is still an area where there are stark differences in the vision of the Swinney's SNP is not quite the same party that declared a climate emergency and brought the Greens into government, but it is still clear that it is prioritising renewable detail beyond that is difficult to pin down, because the government has still not published its long-promised energy also has a clear goal of phasing out oil and gas, but is pushing for a bigger move towards nuclear energy - something the SNP Conservatives meanwhile have gone in the opposite direction, pushing opposition to the difficult trade-offs involved in the transition to net zero. Something we can't ignore in all of this is that Scotland's population is going to look very different by 2050 the National Records of Scotland has projected forward to 2047, and thinks we are on track for modest population the average age of Scots is projected to increase, with the number of people over 75 set to grow by 341,300, up against falls in the numbers under 15 (down by 79,900) and aged 16 to 29 (down by 57,300).That puts increasing strain on the state, given current commitments to things like free personal care and the "triple lock" on are issues which are inextricably knitted into questions about our future economy and workforce - and which politicians are notoriously shy of grappling with, given older people reliably turn up to with Holyrood's social security bill set to be £2bn higher than the block grant coming from Westminster by 2030, questions about how sustainable this is are Freeman was the social security secretary who set up Scotland's devolved welfare agency, and even she says that governments - including the one she served in - "dodge the decision" about what the care system should look like and how it should be paid said governments of all stripes need to have "proper conversations" with voters about big issues - including things like the triple lock, which she said was "well worth a debate".Ms Freeman also noted that the danger of short-term political promises is that increasingly, "people just don't believe them". Anything is possible That feels particularly true for younger conference reflected that many young people are finding it harder to make their way in the world than their parents' generation - from the job market to the housing emergency, to the constant scrutiny of social Barnes, from the John Smith Centre, warned that some young people have so little optimism for the future that they are losing faith in democratic politics group recently ran a poll asking young people whether they would prefer dictatorship to democracy, and 27% of respondents chose an extreme example, but it rings true after a decade where the defining political force in almost every corner of the world has been is inherently linked to an era of exponential change - it is unsettling, and it leaves people grasping for they feel the government of the day isn't delivering stability or certainty, it isn't surprising that dissatisfaction with institutions is growing - or that some are willing to throw votes behind those who promise to listen to them, and to shake things Swinney has certainly detected this mood; he talked about "listening to the public and addressing the strain they feel on the cost of living".Over the longer term his answer, unsurprisingly enough, is we didn't learn anything new about the parties' positions during this conference - Swinney didn't offer any new insight on how the SNP might force the matter if its calls for a referendum continue to be blanked, for when we think again about how much things have changed over the last few decades - devolution, Brexit, five prime ministers in five years - and how much our unpredictable world is likely to change again by 2050, it's fair to conclude that just about anything is possible.
The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
Britain's ruling class is killing aspiration and undermining our future prosperity – it's time we fought back
ASPIRATION is the lifeblood of success. It built this country and every other successful nation. But myopic policies and a lack of vision from the ruling class — civil servants, politicians, judges — is draining aspiration, undermining our future prosperity and frustrating those who seek to improve their lot. 5 5 5 There is a war on aspiration and it's time we fought back. A determination to get on — for yourself, your family and your neighbours — is Britain's greatest asset. My own experience involves it, along with a healthy dose of bloody-mindedness. Told that no one would ever buy a bagless vacuum cleaner, and that someone else would have invented one already if the idea worked, I decided to risk everything I had. It took me 5,127 prototypes, each made by hand. I was on the brink of bankruptcy before I found success. Upping sticks Now headquartered in Singapore, Dyson employs 2,000 people in Britain, sells products in 85 markets and in the last year on record contributed £103million in UK tax. But I worry that Britain no longer has the aspiration to create the Dysons of the future. Those who do seek to improve their lives are being driven away, and it's not just millionaires that are upping sticks. Thousands of trained doctors are quitting the NHS every year to work overseas. Those who are starting new businesses are doing so elsewhere. Growth forecast SLASHED in Spring Statement - sparking fears of MORE tax rises They have decided it's just not worth doing it here. The roots of this go deeper than the last 12 months — but Labour has gleefully poured fuel on the fire since the election. What message does a 20 per cent tax on private school fees send to parents? That if you work hard to give your children the best possible start in life, you will be clobbered for it. This is how aspiration drains away. Labour has ramped up employer National Insurance, triggering job losses, stopping investment and hitting ordinary workers hardest. Those who aspire to create wealth and jobs, and those who grow our food, will all be punished. They hate those who set out to try, with hostility. New employment laws granting employees ever more rights will mean tribunal claims will rocket. Hard-pressed, aspiring employers, coping with punitive and costly claims, will stop hiring. Even more jobs will disappear, and businesses will prefer to contract rather than expand. Ambition and growth are being killed. There is now an extra 20 per cent death duty on family businesses and farms just because they are family-owned — actually closer to 40 per cent once you get the money out of the business to settle the bill. This puts these family-owned companies at an immediate disadvantage to their international rivals, those owned by private equity and those that are public. Labour is out to destroy. Those who aspire to create wealth and jobs, and those who grow our food, will all be punished. They hate those who set out to try, with hostility. Their actions can only be seen as vindictive since, as independent reports now show, the new taxes on aspiration will harm the economy. The tax on family firms and farms is set to cost the economy £14.8billion by 2030 and non-doms departing are already costing £10billion a year. There are plenty of ambitious young entrepreneurs in this country. But if the desire to be successful is punished, with tax and red tape, the talented and aspirational will take their ideas and leave. Those struggling to stay afloat will give up. Our political leaders could start by studying Arthur Laffer, the brilliant economist who once scribbled on a napkin a graph that became world-famous. It explained, with total clarity, that if taxes rise too far, the cash coming to the country's coffers doesn't keep rising. It plummets. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will learn this to her cost in the years ahead, as wealth creators leave and businesses stop hiring and investing. Create the wealth Compare this to when the Conservatives reduced the Corporation Tax rate. Businesses grew faster, and the country received even more tax. If Labour and the political class truly want long-term growth, they should ditch the new taxes and regulations that attack aspiration. They need to encourage those who want to get on. If Britain once again rewards enterprise and backs those who want to succeed, the next generation won't have to look elsewhere for opportunity. Aspiration should be at the centre of our national story: In what we teach young people in the classroom and in our universities, how we encourage founders to start businesses and grow them, unblocking obstacles in their path. I learned through hard-won experience that success isn't handed to us — we have to engineer it. Prosperity has to be earned by each generation, or it's gone. If Britain once again rewards enterprise and backs those who want to succeed, the next generation won't have to look elsewhere for opportunity. It is they who will build the ideas and create the wealth we so desperately need. 5 5
