PH tokenized-asset market seen to hit $60B by 2030

The Philippines’ tokenized-asset market could reach $60 billion by 2030, led mainly by the tokenization of public equities and government bonds, according to a joint report by the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), Saison Capital, and Onigiri Capital released on Thursday.

According to “Project Bayani: The Philippines’ Asset Tokenization Opportunity,” tokenized public equities are expected to hit $26 billion, government bonds at $24 billion, mutual funds at $6 billion, and other assets at $4 billion.

“Tokenization is just not the next chapter in finance. It is a chance for the Philippines to write its own story, built on access, innovation, and inclusion,” the report read.

“Tokenization investment products can become the most widely distributed version of traditional investment products, building on the experience with tokenized bonds, where nearly half of all bond account holders hold bonds in tokenized form,” PDAX, Saison Capital, and Onigiri Capital said in a separate statement.

This comes as the research shows that 14% of Filipinos already own cryptocurrencies, compared to less than the 5% who own stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.

Mobile wallets have also embedded blockchain-enabled wallets that already allow users to hold cryptocurrencies and tokenized investment products.

“The Philippines has a unique advantage: blockchain wallets are already mainstream,” PDAX chief executive officer Nichel Gaba said.

“We’re not starting from scratch. The infrastructure to deliver tokenized assets to millions of Filipinos already exists in their pockets. Our focus now is to connect that infrastructure to real, regulated financial products,” he added.

In 2023, the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) launched its maiden offering of Philippine peso-denominated tokenized treasury bonds (TTBs) to raise P10 billion from the domestic bond market. They were issued in the form of digital tokens, maintained in the BTr’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) registry.

The BTr has also partnered with PDAX and mobile wallet GCash to distribute tokenized government bonds.

“This partnership brought government bonds directly to the fingertips of millions of Filipinos,” National Treasurer Sharon Almanza said.

“It represents a bold leap forward in democratizing access to public financial instruments further promoting financial inclusion,” she added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News