Philippines Greenlights Peso-Linked Stablecoin Pilot

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved a pilot project for PHPC, a stablecoin tied to the Philippine Peso.

This project is part of the BSP’s Regulatory Sandbox Framework, which aims to promote financial innovation in a secure, controlled setting.

Philippines Bets on Peso-Linked Stablecoin

Coins.ph, a crypto wallet provider, developed the peso-backed stablecoin PHPC. It is pegged 1:1 with the Philippine Peso and backed by cash reserves. This stablecoin simplifies and speeds up domestic and international money transfers, offering a digital alternative to traditional banking.

The pilot will thoroughly test PHPC’s practical applications and its effects on the financial system. It will assess uses for cross-border payments, trading with other digital assets, and as collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

The sandbox trial is essential for checking PHPC’s operational effectiveness and stability. It allows the BSP to ensure that innovations like PHPC do not harm consumer protection, data security, or financial integrity. It also checks adherence to anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), and proliferation financing (PF) standards.

If the pilot is successful, it could lead to wider adoption. This would change how home and abroad users manage and transfer funds. Indeed, PHPC could move to a formal public rollout, pending final evaluations and approvals by the BSP.

“This pilot marks a crucial step for Coins.ph and the wider financial landscape in the Philippines. It serves a vital platform to test the potential of digital currencies in enhancing financial inclusion,” Coins.ph noted.

Read more: A Guide to the Best Stablecoins in 2024

The PHPC pilot is expected to last three to twelve months, but the BSP has not set an official end date. This phase is crucial for gathering data to evaluate the feasibility of PHPC’s public launch.