Pitaka new feature allows Philippine users to buy digital assets using peso

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Digital currency wallet provider Pitaka has unveiled a new feature that allows its users to buy digital assets using Philippine pesos with traditional payment rails.

A press statement disclosed that Pitaka’s new offering was made possible following a partnership with Transak, a fiat on-ramp support provider. The collaboration between the two entities will allow Pitaka’s users to buy digital assets like BTC, Ethereum (ETH), and Cardano (ADA) using debit and credit cards or other services like Maya, ShopeePay, and GrabPay.

Ralph Acabado, CEO of Tetrix, Pitaka’s parent company, noted that the collaboration is a “key step” in Pitaka’s objective to broaden the investment options for millions of individuals. He lauded Transak’s track record of providing fiat on-ramp services for digital asset service providers, hoping for a long-term collaboration between both parties.

Acabado noted that the scourge of recent implosions facing centralized exchanges plaguing the digital asset industry has made it imperative for investors to consider self-custody wallets.

“They offer a high level of security, sovereignty, privacy, and control over their money and private financial information. Pitaka, now integrated with Transak, makes it even easier for customers to access crypto and Web3 with peace of mind,” Acabado said.

Etienne Gandon, a high-ranking executive at Transak, expressed enthusiasm for the new partnership, noting that the company is keen to close more deals with industry firms.

“We’re glad that we are able to provide new payment methods for Pitaka, and we hope more and more users benefit from this as we strive to make onboarding easier and more seamless for mainstream adoption,” Gandon said.

Unstoppable domains—A huge leap for Pitaka

The press statement also disclosed that Pitaka entered into a partnership with NFT domain provider Unstoppable Domains that will provide users with the ability to send and receive digital collectibles using “human-readable domains.”

Before implementing this feature, users had to input lengthy and impossible-to-memorize characters to send digital assets. Acabado explained that Unstoppable Domains are stored on distributed ledgers, making them essentially censor-proof from third parties.

“NFT domains provide a secure and user-friendly way to store and manage non-fungible assets on the blockchain. Because they are stored on the blockchain, they are resistant to censorship and control by any single entity, and they can’t be lost or stolen like physical assets can,” Acabado said.

Filipino fintech firms have been inching into offering digital assets to customers while digital asset providers are scrambling to protect their turf by broadening the scope of their offerings.

Watch: Philippine Blockchain Week highlights