Widespread high-level English language skills and relatively low wages have seen Filipino workers become a top choice for remote staff for blockchain projects around the world.
But is the industry exploiting these workers, or has remote work during the pandemic helped the country to grow and develop?
If you’ve ever contacted customer support for a crypto exchange, the chances are high you’ve chatted with a Filipino staff member. They’re highly prized by crypto projects for strong English language skills, friendly and polite demeanors and let’s be honest: dirt cheap wages. It leaves many project leaders wrestling with the ethics of paying Filipino staff a relative pittance to save on overheads. Is it fair that a blockchain developer in the Philippines gets paid $10,000 for similar work to a blockchain developer in Australia on $70,000?
Binance’s Changpeng Zhao describes the Philippines as “one of the most active crypto communities in Asia” and it’s the perfect way to sum up the country’s blend of high adoption amid relatively low affluence.
With GDP spending power of less than $10,000 per head each year, this nation of 7,100 islands is far from a major contributor to worldwide exchange volumes. But in terms of day to day use and enthusiasm, a significant proportion of Filipinos appear to be leapfrogging directly from a cash-based economy to the future of fintech.
The country boasts 17 licensed digital currency exchanges, and tens of thousands of pawn shops and convenience stores happily accept cash deposits and withdrawals for various crypto exchanges and apps. You can buy Bitcoin with cash at any of the 3,000 7/Elevens in the land via Abra, and one in seven adults use the blockchain-based crypto and digital payments app Coins.ph. That’s a level of market penetration comparable to some of the most wel