Last year, former Chief Financial Officer of Binance bought Wei Zhou Coins.pha mobile wallet and digital currency exchange, from Indonesian technology company Gojek. Coins.ph, also referred to as the Coinbase of Southeast Asia, was founded in 2014 and was one of the first crypto wallets and exchanges in the Philippines. It later shifted its focus to providing broader financial services.
Zhou had before left Binance for personal reasons. He had worked there for three years.
BCN: What do you think of governments trying to regulate crypto platforms, which seems to be the trend in recent years? Do you think there is a real threat of abuse and money laundering from unregulated platforms?
Wei Zhou: “I am all for regulations. The consequences of a lack of regulation can be dire and last year the crypto industry was strongly reminded of this. FTX is the best example of why we need regulation; Being an offshore company, the company was not subject to the jurisdiction of regulators in most of the countries in which it operated.
At Coins, we have been working with regulators for nine years. We were the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) to hold both BSP’s Virtual Currency and Electronic Money Issuer license. We continue to cooperate with the central bank and other regulators and are constantly monitored to protect our users.”
BCN: You posted a YouTube video about trust (where you talk about the collapse of the FTX and people losing trust in the man behind the company Sam Bankman-Fried), so I think this topic might be important to you .
Do you think trust is the most important thing in this industry, or are other key factors such as high inflation, rising interest rates and war more important key factors in the success crypto is expected to have in 2023?
Wei Zhou: “Restoring trust in crypto is crucial, but it is certainly not the only factor that will determine the success of crypto this year and in the future. While inflation, interest rates and the political climate will play a major role, I believe smart regulation will be the biggest factor in restoring trust in crypto.
I have been active in the Asian crypto market for several years and regulators in the Philippines are adopting a growth mindset when it comes to crypto regulation. Due to the popularity of Play to Earn games, crypto has a net positive case for Filipinos as it opens up opportunities to earn extra income.
BCN: Can you tell us more about your company Coins.ph, a mobile wallet and digital currency exchange? You bought the company last year, right at a time when the crypto market was still in reasonable shape. What has changed for your business and what are the prospects for 2023?
Wei Zhou: “While the crypto market has taken a downturn amid the collapse of some global giants, our focus at Coins has not changed. I took on this exchange with a vision to bring financial liberation to hundreds of millions of people in Southeast Asia, starting in the Philippines.
This year our goal is to become the Web3 gateway of choice for the region. Because gaming to earn is so massive here, we recently launched Coin Arcade to exploit this interest. Our revamped Coins pro Bangko Sentral of the Philippines is regulated and licensed, offering the best rates in the region for PHP to crypto traders. In addition our QR PH integration was launched to provide additional tools and use cases for users to scan and pay for their everyday purchases from thousands of offline merchants across the country.
BCN: Will anything change in your company in 2023? What are your long-term plans and expectations?
Wei Zhou: “Coins provide a new way for users to live and earn online and live and spend offline and in the real world. In 2023, we aim to develop services for Filipinos to experience Play to Earn gaming and enable cheap Pesos transfers through blockchain technology.
In order for Coins to bridge this gateway to crypto and enable these payments, Coins needs to work with partners to provide deep liquidity in pesos. That’s why we’re looking for long-term partners interested in building Pesos remittance rails.
We are also looking to further expand our product into new markets outside of the Philippines.”
BCN: Do you generally believe in a positive future for crypto and why?
Wei Zhou: “I believe we are still very early in the growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies.
To fully understand how much room for growth crypto has, I think you just need to observe the Southeast Asian region. While the West has focused on crypto speculation, this region is using crypto for remittances, dramatically reducing the cost and time it takes to receive their funds. The Philippines is the world’s fourth-largest recipient of remittances, and with platforms like Coins, millions of Filipinos can now receive money from abroad in seconds and at a fraction of the cost they’ve paid for centuries.
Southeast Asia is also the world’s pioneer of play to earn. Axie Infinity showcased the power of P2E gaming and millions of Filipinos were able to feed their families through the game. Axie and other games continue to see millions of users for this region despite the general market downturn, proving that crypto’s largest market lies in real-life applications that deliver value to their users, not just speculation.
BCN: Thank you for your time. Good luck with your endeavors!