Philippines bank launches bank-backed cryptocurrency

UnionBank, from the Philippines, has announced that it will be launching its own bank-based stablecoin?, pegged to the Philippine peso, called the PHX. The hope is that this globally-tradable coin? will help drive financial inclusion for the small nation.

The PHX will be used on the bank’s i2i platform, which stands for 'island-to-island, institution-to-institution, and individual-to-individual', and is the blockchain? solution that connects the main Union bank with smaller rural banks on other islands in the nation.

Perfect fit

According to the senior vice president, the use of a stablecoin? in this manner is useful for the unique situation they find themselves in the Philippines. 

Arvie de Vera, the senior VP, said that the PHX will work as: “a stable store of value, medium of exchange? and is a programmable token? with self-executing logic. It enables transparent and automatic execution of payments.” 

This token? is already in operation and has been reportedly used by a few rural banks on the i2i network.

On a more holistic level, the PHX token? not only aids in moving values between banks, it can resolves reconciliation issues and eases audit and compliance issues, according to De Vera. 

Making blockchain? work

There has been a bigger drive by banks and other financial services to utilize blockchain? technology in order to make their services better and more efficient. The power of the technology is its ability to be directed at a broad spectrum of problems. 

In the case of the Philippines there are issues of banking connectivity and through the use of the blockchain?, they are able to address? this. Now, even more so, by using a digital form of their currency in the PHX.

It is likely that this is still the early stages for the Philippines and its use of blockchain? and stable coins as there has been demonstrations of Unionbank piloting a blockchain?-based cross-border remittance from the Philippines to Singapore involving use of the i2i platform.