Over the span of two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the Philippine economy contract. This contraction was something that was not seen since the post-second world war. There’s much optimism in 2022 as the Philippine economy is set to take off once again – as the local transmission of COVID-19 was being managed to well below critical levels. The recipe for this upcoming comeback was the vaccination rate of Filipinos, their ingrained optimism and perseverance despite the hard times.
Prior to the talks of the economy reopening, the Philippine digital economy was a bright spot despite the swirling pandemic:

• Fintech and Digital banking were seeing new heights in turn transactions
• Online commerce and shopping were booming
• Many SMEs and government agencies managed to go online and go digital
• Consumption and Usage of digital services went up for Filipinos
• The average Filipino has at least made an online purchase or digital transaction

As the country is aiming for an economic comeback, the overall Philippine economy and its digital side of things will need to be responsive and receptive to the global digitalization of goods and services.

Blockchain, NFT and Metaverse

Spinning out of the Blockchain, Decentralized commerce saw the rise of Pay to Earn Crypto / Digital Currency games in 2020, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in 2021, and possibly, 2022 will usher in the mainstream awareness and applications of the Metaverse. While these technologies out of Blockchain seem like a part of hip culture, their massive global success when it comes to adoption and their commercial earnings across the world is a massive economic gain for many of the businesses who have thrived with those ventures.

Brands and businesses earned billions of dollars through the sales of NFTs and digital art encapsulated as NFTs. Going over the Metaverse, its commercial and business potential is there: you get an augmented virtual reality experience as a new way to experience commerce. This can go over to platforms such as advertisements, online services, and online consultations. As commerce and consumer culture evolve, Philippine SMEs should take note of how Filipino consumers are among the quickest to intake new technologies and experiences.

Central Bank and Decentralized Economies

A healthy fiscal outlook is a strong sign of a healthy economy. As the Philippines is making way for its economic recovery, Blockchain is also making its transformative waves felt across the financial system of the globe — often reinventing and reimagining finance, trade, and monetary systems through a decentralized structure.

First is the application of Blockchain for banks and credit transactions. Settlements and payments are done in real-time as analysts based on the early commercial pilot cases of Blockchain in banking and finance have said that the augmented process of Blockchain has made trades and financial processes complete a cycle in just seconds. Its exponential increase in efficiency foretells a leaner diet for finance as this saves banks and financial institutions – billions annually.

As with banks, many global banks have conducted their research and feasibility use cases for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) where the nomination of fiat is now issued in digitized fiats with key serials under a Blockchain. Recently, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have also announced their research on the CBDC version of the Philippine Peso.

We are seeing disruption and innovation of economies and industries with Blockchain. These innovative use cases are a by-product of research, pilots, and commercial application and scalability. As the Philippines is primed for an economic recovery, leaders, businessmen, and economic strategists must also include inclusive, innovative, and adaptive strategies for the digital and decentralized Philippine economy.

About DynaQuest

DynaQuest is an award-winning Blockchain solutions provider that specializes in the integration of Blockchain and Frontier Technology into industries and economies. The company is working on sustainable development and technology as catalysts for development projects.