A Philippines-based digital asset exchange has announced the successful completion of its Series B funding round at a time when the local digital currency market is booming. The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, more popular as PDAX, will channel the funds towards making its infrastructure more accessible, safe and efficient.
The funding round was led by Tiger Global, the VC giant with investments in Alibaba, Facebook, TikTok and more. This is the second time that Tiger is investing in PDAX, having led a $12.5 million funding round for the exchange in August 2021.
Other participants included Ripple, the payments company that the SEC has been pursuing for a year over its illegal security XRP, Jump Capital, DG Daiwa Ventures and Kingsway Capital.
UnionBank, the Filipino bank whose largest shareholder is the Aboitiz family, one of the richest in the Philippines, is also among the investors. The $15 billion-in-assets bank recently announced that it was venturing into digital currency services, including providing a trading platform and custodial services. This is not the first time that the bank is partnering with PDAX, with the two being behind Bonds.ph, the country’s first mobile app for purchasing government bonds.
Commenting on the funding round, CEO and founder Nichel Gaba revealed that it would expand its services to bring in more Filipino investors with the funds. PDAX would also invest in making its services safer and more easily accessible.
“Today, PDAX facilitates the exchange of crypto and fiat currencies, and enables payments in and out of metaverse applications. We are in the middle of developments that will continue to make access to digital assets safer, easier and more efficient for everyone,” he commented.
PDAX launched in 2018 and it allows Filipino traders to buy and sell digital assets seamlessly, now boasting of over 500,000 users.
The Philippines continues to be a country with great potential for digital currency adoption. From trading of digital assets to adoption of play-to-earn blockchain games, the country is one of the leaders in the space in the Southeast Asian region. However, it has lagged behind countries like Nigeria, Kenya and India for digital currency awareness, with a survey by BrokerChooser placing it 17th globally with a score of 2.94/10.
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