Bitcoin trading volumes post new high in Philippines peso on Paxful

Published at: July 14, 2022

Despite some level of regulatory uncertainty around cryptocurrency in the Philippines, one platform has recorded a massive influx of Bitcoin (BTC) trading activity recently.

Bitcoin trading volumes in the Philippines have been on the rise over the past few months on the major peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange Paxful.

According to data from the Bitcoin tracking website Coin Dance, Bitcoin trading volumes denominated in the Philippines peso (PHP) have been steadily growing on Paxful and eventually hit a new high in July.

Paxful’s Bitcoin trading volumes peaked at 111 million PHP ($1.9 million) during the week ending on Saturday, July 9, 2022. That was the biggest amount of PHP ever traded against Bitcoin on Paxful.

The amount of actual Bitcoin traded on Paxful against PHP during that week was 92 BTC, slightly down from the previous week ending on July 2.

A notable influx in BTC trading started in early May, with Bitcoin trading volumes more than doubling over a period of months. As of early May, Paxful’s weekly BTC trading volumes in the Philippines amounted to just around 40 BTC.

Despite the recent upside in BTC trading volumes, the number of Bitcoins traded per week on Paxful in the Philippines is still yet to break the all-time high weekly volumes of 111 BTC posted in August 2020.

The rise of Bitcoin trading on Paxful in the Philippines started amid a massive bearish trend in the cryptocurrency markets, with Bitcoin losing about 50% of its value since early May. BTC trading volumes in PHP surged even higher on Paxful after Bitcoin tumbled below $19,000 in late June.

The significant growth of PHP/BTC trading on Paxful also came amid the weakening local currency coupled with rising inflation. The Philippine central bank will reportedly decide whether to hike interest rates in mid-August amid inflation that is expected to grow above 7% by the end of the year from the current 6.1%.

The overall sentiment around crypto adoption in the Philippines has been rising in recent years as well, with many local firms moving into crypto trading. In April 2022, Philippines-based fintech firm PayMaya reportedly launched a crypto feature allowing users to trade, purchase and spend crypto on their accounts. The firm is among 19 official virtual asset service providers approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to offer virtual asset services.

Related: Binance ban off the cards, says Philippine trade and industry department

According to Terry Ridon, a local lawyer and convenor at the Infrawatch PH think tank, the rise in crypto adoption in the Philippines is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Crypto is becoming more popular in the Philippines because the country started shifting to digital payment systems during the pandemic. The ease of entry into the cryptocurrency markets through various apps has also allowed more people to participate in the sector,” he said in a statement to Cointelegraph.

Tags
Bitcoin
Regulation
Business
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Cryptocurrencies
Fiat Money
Philippines
Paxful
P2P
Related Posts
Bitcoin May Be the Solution to Africa’s Broken Financial System
A recent report suggests that the lack of traditional financial infrastructure makes Africa a place where cryptocurrency adoption is likely. The report — shared with Cointelegraph by a Luno representative on May 27 — sheds light on Africa’s financial infrastructure and the role that cryptocurrencies play in it. The author of the research, which was jointly conducted by market analysis firm Arcane Research and crypto exchange, Luno, wrote that the financial landscape seen on the continent plays a role in forming appetite for crypto in Africa: “Although it is a diverse region, African nations share some key similarities and trends. …
Bitcoin / May 27, 2020
Paxful Launches Peer-to-Peer Trading Between Gold and Bitcoin
Peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency marketplace Paxful announced the introduction of support for trade between gold and Bitcoin (BTC) on the platform on April 7. With the announcement, Paxful now facilitates physical trading in 16 different countries. Cointelegraph spoke to Paxful CEO and Founder Ray Youssef, who attributed the decision to support gold to “surprisingly high” customer demand. When a trade is entered, the Bitcoin will remain in Paxful’s escrow until the physical delivery of the gold is confirmed. Transactions must be completed within 21 days of trade being opened on the platform. Paxful will not physically track or touch the gold …
Bitcoin / April 7, 2020
CBDC is a tool to combat Bitcoin, says Bank of Indonesia exec
Central bank digital currencies (CBDC), digital versions of national currencies introduced in response to growing cryptocurrency adoption, would be an essential tool for combating crypto, according to the Bank of Indonesia. The central bank of Indonesia is considering launching a digital rupiah to “fight” against cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Bank of Indonesia’s assistant governor Juda Agung said at a recent parliamentary meeting. “A CBDC would be one of the tools to fight crypto. We assume that people would find CBDC more credible than crypto. CBDC would be part of an effort to address the use of crypto in financial transactions,” …
Adoption / Nov. 30, 2021
Crypto.com and Silvergate enable institutions to buy and sell crypto with USD
Major cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com continues expanding its crypto on-ramp and off-ramp solutions with a new partnership with the California state-chartered bank Silvergate. Crypto.com announced on Nov. 30 that it is working with Silvergate to allow institutional clients to deposit and withdraw from the exchange using the U.S. dollar (USD). According to the announcement, bank transfers to and from the Crypto.com exchange are now available for institutional investors. With the help of Silvergate, institutional clients can transfer USD between their bank accounts and Crypto.com with no fees. The new feature is enabled through the Silvergate Exchange Network, a payments platform enabling …
Bitcoin / Nov. 30, 2021
Swiss crypto bank Sygnum secures in-principal approval in Singapore
Sygnum Singapore, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based cryptocurrency bank Sygnum, is expanding services after securing new regulatory approval from local authorities. The company announced Tuesday that Sygnum Singapore received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to offer three additional regulated activities under capital markets services (CMS) license. The CMS license was initially granted in 2019, allowing Sygnum Singapore to conduct asset management activities. The latest in-principle regulatory approval upgrades Sygnum Singapore to enable new tools like providing corporate finance advisory services, dealing with tokenized capital market products and digital assets, as well as offering custodial services for asset …
Bitcoin / March 8, 2022