Final 12 months former Binance Chief Monetary Officer Wei Zhou purchased Cash.ph, a cell pockets and digital foreign money change, from Indonesian expertise firm Gojek. Cash.ph, additionally referred to as the Coinbase of Southeast Asia, was based in 2014 and was one of many earliest crypto wallets and exchanges within the Philippines. It later shifted its focus to offering broader monetary providers.
Zhou had beforehand left Binance for private causes. He had labored there for 3 years.
BCN: How do you are feeling about governments attempting to manage crypto platforms, which appears to be the pattern over the previous few years? Do you assume there’s a actual risk of misuse and cash laundering practices of unregulated platforms?
Wei Zhou: “I’m all for rules. The results of an absence of rules will be dire and final 12 months, the crypto trade received a stark reminder of this. FTX is the very best instance of why we’d like rules; being an offshore firm, the corporate wasn’t below the jurisdiction of regulators in most international locations it operated in.
At Cash, now we have been working with regulators all through our 9 years of existence. We have been the primary Digital Asset Service Supplier (VASP) to carry each the Digital Forex and Digital Cash Issuer licenses from BSP. We proceed to work with the central financial institution and different regulators and are continually audited to guard our customers.”
BCN: You posted a YouTube video about belief (Through which you discuss in regards to the FTX collapse and other people shedding belief within the man behind the corporate Sam Bankman-Fried), so I believe this topic may very well be vital to you.
Do you assume belief is an important factor on this trade, or are different key elements equivalent to excessive inflation, rising rates of interest and battle are extra vital key elements within the success crypto is anticipated to have in 2023?
Wei Zhou: “Restoring belief in crypto is important, however it’s not at all the one issue that may decide the success of crypto this 12 months and sooner or later. Whereas inflation, rates of interest and the political local weather will play a giant function, I consider that good rules would be the greatest think about restoring belief in crypto.
I’ve been within the Asian crypto marketplace for a number of years and Philippines regulators undertake a progress mindset on the subject of crypto rules. As a result of recognition of Play to Earn video games, crypto has a internet constructive case for Filipinos, because it opens alternatives to earn further revenue.”
BCN: Are you able to inform us extra about your organization Cash.ph, a cell pockets and digital foreign money change? You acquire the corporate final 12 months, proper at a time when the crypto market was nonetheless in cheap form. What has modified in your firm and what are the prospects for 2023?
Wei Zhou: “Whereas the crypto market has seen a downturn amid the collapse of some world giants, our focus at Cash hasn’t modified. I took over this change with the imaginative and prescient of bringing monetary liberation to tons of of thousands and thousands of individuals in Southeast Asia, beginning within the Philippines.
This 12 months, our goal is to turn out to be the Web3 gateway of selection for the area. With play-to-earn gaming being so large right here, we just lately launched Cash Arcade to leverage this curiosity. Our revamped Cash Professional is Bangko Sentral of the Philippines regulated and licensed, and it presents the very best charges within the area for PHP to crypto merchants. Moreover, our QR PH integration was launched to offer further utility and use case for customers to scan and pay for his or her every day purchases with hundreds of offline retailers throughout the nation.”
BCN: Are you anticipated to make any modifications inside your organization in 2023? What are your long-term plans and expectations?
Wei Zhou: “Cash envision a brand new approach for customers to reside and earn on-line and to reside and spend offline and in the actual world. In 2023, we goal to develop providers for Filipinos to expertise Play to Earn gaming and to allow low-cost Pesos remittance transfers by way of blockchain expertise.
To ensure that Cash to bridge this gateway into crypto and to facilitate these funds, Cash must collaborate with companions to offer deep liquidity in Pesos. Therefore, we’re in search of long-term companions serious about constructing Pesos remittance rails.
We’re additionally trying to additional broaden our product into new markets past the Philippines.”
BCN: Generally, do you consider in a constructive future for crypto and why?
Wei Zhou: “I consider that we’re nonetheless very early within the progress and adoption of cryptocurrencies.
To totally admire simply how a lot room for progress crypto has, I believe one simply wants to watch the Southeast Asian area. Whereas the West has centered on hypothesis with crypto, this area is leveraging crypto for remittances, slicing down the prices and time taken to obtain their funds drastically. The Philippines is the world’s fourth largest recipient of remittances, and with platforms like Cash, thousands and thousands of Filipinos can now obtain funds from abroad in seconds and for a fraction of the fee they’ve paid for ages.
Southeast Asia can be the world’s play-to-earn gaming trailblazer. Axie Infinity confirmed the facility of P2E gaming and thousands and thousands of Filipinos have been in a position to feed their households by means of the sport. Axie and different video games nonetheless proceed to see thousands and thousands of customers for this area regardless of the general market downturn, proving that crypto’s greatest market lies in real-life purposes that ship worth to their customers, not simply hypothesis.”
BCN: Thanks in your time. Good luck together with your endeavours!
