The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange or PDAX announced on Thursday the completion of its $50 million Series B funding round headed by Tiger Global.
This round was also attended by investors from earlier rounds, including Beenext Ventures and Cadenza Capital Management.
Several other financial institutions have also joined as co-investors in this project. These include Kingsway Capital, Jump Capital, Draper Dragon, Oak Drive Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, Ripple, and UBX Ventures. Since August 2021, PDAX has raised $12.5 million in Series B investment.
In an interview, PDAX chief operating officer Kyle T. Kua credited the country’s widespread crypto acceptance to the Filipinos’ innate digital savvy, as well as the development of the Play-to-Earn (P2E) sector over the past decade.
“Many Filipinos took time to start studying cryptocurrencies and delving into the market, whether by trading, investing, or playing,” Kua said.
Knowing how gregarious Filipinos can be, interest in creating crypto wallets and playing these games exploded throughout the Philippines in highly urbanized cities and the countryside.
This popularity is attributed to the availability of smartphones and other devices and because the daily revenues of certain P2E games exceeded the daily minimum wage.
PDAX, which has seen a 35-fold increase in user sign-ups since the lockdowns began, added five more coins to its roster of cryptocurrencies on February 3.
“These five new tokens are among of the most sought after in our community,” said Nix T. Eniego, PDAX associate vice president for marketing, referring to Polygon (MATIC), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), Polkadot (DOT), and Avalanche (AVL) (AVAX).
Total crypto market cap at $1.975 trillion in the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
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The PDAX Backstory
PDAX is a central bank-licensed digital asset trading platform founded in 2018 by CEO Nichel Gaba. It offers Filipinos a “safe, user-friendly” platform for buying and selling digital assets and participating in metaverse applications.
The app was officially introduced in the Philippines in 2019 and is accessible online and on iOS and Android devices.
PDAX launched in 2020 in collaboration with the Bureau of the Treasury and Unionbank Bonds.ph. This blockchain-enabled tool allows retail customers to buy government bonds directly from their smartphones.
Opportunities For Personal Wealth
According to Gaba, cryptocurrency is the most revolutionary technology since the internet. So, PDAX has secured $50 million in Series B funding to bring metaverse apps to the Philippines.
The Filipinos already use applications to earn money through NFT projects, cross-border money transfers, commerce, and other related investment. The Series B funding will establish a safe and accessible infrastructure for the country’s digital asset industry.
PDAX facilitates the exchange of cryptocurrencies and fiat cash between metaverse applications and the PDAX network. However, there is still more to be done in terms of building up the necessary infrastructure.
The platform is now in the middle of advancements that will make access to digital assets safer, simpler and more efficient for all stakeholders.
As the field matures, PDAX will continue to collaborate with authorities to ensure that all these technologies safeguard and provide value to consumers.
PDAX thinks that blockchain technology and digital assets would provide the Philippines a fair playing field, creating opportunities for personal wealth and growth among the Filipino people.
The Philippines has more than 100 million people; however, most do not have easy access to financial services.
One of the goals of PDAX is to make cryptocurrency accessible to every Filipino.
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Featured image from MegaBites, chart from TradingView.com
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