The Philippines is positioning itself as a digital asset powerhouse. A new study from the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, in collaboration with Saison Capital and Onigiri Capital, predicts a $60 billion market for tokenized investment products within the next five years.
Project Bayani, the initiative outlined in the white paper, imagines millions of Filipinos accessing stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in tokenized form rather than through traditional financial channels.
With the country’s robust mobile wallet ecosystem, adoption could be fast, leveraging existing platforms instead of building new infrastructure from scratch.
The projections are ambitious. Public equities could reach $26 billion, government bonds $24 billion, and mutual funds $6 billion by 2030. The model assumes continued economic growth in a country where nearly half the population remained unbanked as of August.
PDAX founder Nichel Gaba emphasized the Philippines’ head start in blockchain adoption. Platforms like GCash, PDAX, Maya, and Coins.ph already provide crypto services to millions, giving tokenized investment products immediate access to a large audience.
Current crypto ownership sits at 14% of the population, dwarfing traditional asset participation: stocks at 2.4%, bonds under 1%, and mutual funds even lower. This gap highlights a huge potential for rapid adoption once tokenized traditional assets become widely available.
To make these products accessible, PDAX and GCash lowered the minimum government bond investment to 500 pesos, about $8.50. Today, nearly half of all government bond accounts now hold tokenized versions, showing clear demand for digital investment solutions.
The Bureau of the Treasury partnered with PDAX and GCash to distribute these tokenized bonds nationwide. Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza said the program puts government securities directly into citizens’ hands through mobile devices, removing barriers that historically limited investment opportunities to wealthier individuals.
Combining widespread blockchain infrastructure, high crypto familiarity, and government backing, the Philippines is poised to become a Southeast Asian leader in tokenized assets. Strategic partnerships with payment platforms demonstrate how digital finance can integrate with existing systems to reach underserved populations and democratize access to investing.
The $60 billion tokenization opportunity is not just a projection—it’s a roadmap for how digital assets can redefine financial inclusion in the Philippines.
