CoinsPH, a popular platform (or application) for crypto and financial services in the Philippines (and Thailand) is continually evolving and improving its user interface, offered services, partnerships, and even its promotions.
Speaking of which, it just announced a new promotion that started yesterday (21st of November) and will run until the end of the year (31st December).
But before that, here's a brief background about the platform which was one of the most user-friendly applications (or wallets) that I used when I first dabbled into Bitcoin years ago. It is centralized and fully regulated by the country's central bank (BSP) and holds 2 licenses, i.e. Virtual Currency and Electronic Money Issuer.¹
The platform provides a user-friendly onramp and offramp channel for fiat and crypto. Users can easily deposit (cash in) or withdraw (cash out) in the local currency through various outlets and banks. They can send, receive, buy, swap, convert, and/or hodl cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and the local currency (PHP).
Other services include prepaid mobile phone loads and bill payments (over 120 types ranging from utilities to credit cards, insurance premiums to home credit/loans, government fees to memorial plans, etc).
It has its own exchange (Coins Pro) where trade anytime. There's the Coins TradeDesk which is available to big traders and institutions whose trade size (crypto and foreign currencies) is at least 1M PHP.
It also allows users to create their own Web 3 wallet from the application and explore other services like the Coins Arcade where they can earn tokens while playing games like Splinterlands, MetaDerby, and Sing Sing.
It has an e-wallet that provides users with secure and convenient online and in-store payments.
Also in the platform is the Coins Academy which is the go-to place for things crypto, blockchain, and Web3.
Buy and HOLD BTC to Earn Program
They call it an "easy way to buy and effortlessly earn rewards on one's cryptocurrency holdings."²
Mechanics and Eligibility³
✅ Verified users (KYC-passed) who buy (spot or convert) and hold a minimum of 0.001 BTC (a little less than $40 in today's price) in their CoinsPH wallets each week are eligible for this program.
✅ The max cap per user to earn interest is 1 BTC.
✅ Calculation of final interest or rewards will be based on the user's amount of BTC and the number of holding days.
✅ Rewards (in BTC) will be distributed and credited to the eligible users' wallets within 14 working days after the promotion ends. Participants who want their rewards in the local currency (Philippine Peso) can request so by sending an email to support@coins.ph
Another available offer similar to this one is the USDC Hodl and Earn program which was introduced in September and is still ongoing. The rewards are distributed in the form of USDC (or PHP when requested) on a weekly basis.
Partnership with Paxos for Frictionless Remittances Using PYUSD
Coincidentally, CoinsPH also announced its collaboration with Paxos, making PayPal USD (PYUSD) available for remittances to the Philippines.
Accordingly, the country is one of the "largest remittance-receiving countries in the whole world so the introduction of PYUSD will allow senders to quickly and easily remit PYUSD to the CoinsPH wallets of their families at a cheaper cost compared to the traditional remittance providers."⁴
Receivers can then easily swap or convert the PYUSD to the local currency (PHP) and cash out via InstaPay or PesoNet fund transfers to any of the supported partners and e-wallets.
It was also mentioned that trading fees for PYUSD are waived during this launch period which may encourage people to explore the benefits of the stablecoin for remittances.⁵
Personal Thoughts
I love the fact that CoinsPH is evolving with time and innovation. While it is centralized and regulated, it provides various services that are beneficial to local users especially the onramp and offramp for crypto (and fiat).
Its various programs (like the HODL and EARN) are a good way to give its users a chance to learn further and also earn even small amounts of crypto in the process.
The partnership with Paxos and enabling PYUSD for remittances is another good move and at the right timing too for the holiday season is just around the corner and Filipinos love to send gifts to their loved ones. It will be interesting to see whether this will be adopted soon.
For infotainment only. Not an endorsement of the products or services. Please DYOR.
Lead image created on Canva. PYUSD Logo from CoinsPH. No copyright infringement intended. 22112023/11:50ph