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If 2024 was about recovery, 2025 was the year of integration and regulation.
The Philippine blockchain landscape has matured this year. We saw the conversation shift from speculative trading to serious discussions on national policy, data privacy, and government transparency. From the SEC’s crackdown on unlicensed exchanges to the Senate’s historic passing of the CADENA Act, the industry is no longer operating in the shadows.
However, growing pains remain. The year was punctuated by privacy battles with World (formerly Worldcoin), high-profile kidnapping cases linked to crypto payments, and corruption scandals.
Here are the 12 milestones that defined the Philippine crypto landscape in 2025.
January: The SEC Sets the Rules of Engagement
The year began with clarity… and controversy. Early in January, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the first draft of what would become the “Rules on Crypto-Assets Service Providers” (CASP).
The initial framework was strict, covering everything from licensing to marketing bans. It sparked immediate pushback from crypto and web3 personalities who feared the compliance costs would stifle innovation.
- The Outcome: After months of heated debate, the SEC released a revised, more flexible draft in April. They removed the draconian marketing bans but introduced a steep ₱100 million paid-up capital requirement.
- The Impact: When the rules officially took effect on July 5, it marked the end of the “Wild West” era. Crypto assets classified as securities are now firmly under SEC oversight, while payment-focused assets remain with the BSP.
Read More:
February: World (Worldcoin) Scans Bulacan
In February, residents of Bulacan lined up to have their irises scanned by silver “Orbs” in exchange for $WLD tokens. World (formerly Worldcoin) launched its operations as a “closed beta,” promising a new form of digital identity.
While thousands queued for the financial incentives (reportedly starting at ₱2,500), the rollout immediately raised red flags. Privacy advocates questioned the safety of biometric data. This set the stage for a regulatory showdown later in the year.
A feature on the broadcast show “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” further elevated the discussion about Worldcoin at the national level.
Read More: Ethical, Socioeconomic Issues Raised as Worldcoin Airdrop Activity Continues in Bulacan
March: Light a Candle For Nicholas: Pi Network “GCV” Supporters Conduct Prayer Meetups
Despite skepticism from mainstream analysts, the Pi Network community simply did not care, or perhaps they didn’t know what was being discussed by the crypto community?
More than 40 Pi Network enthusiasts marked Pi Day on March 14, 2025, at Barangay Sucat Gazebo and Park in Muntinlupa City. The community exchanged goods and services using a 50-50 split of fiat and $PI tokens.
The celebration included candle lighting, prayers, and the launch of the “Global Value Consensus $314,159 Guidebook,” which outlines strategies for promoting Pi adoption worldwide.
A follow-up bartering and merchant orientation was held on March 20 in Trece Martires City, Cavite. The gatherings come as Pi Network enters its Open Network phase, allowing external connectivity and $PI trading on various exchanges.
April: The “FishBlock” Experiment
In one of the lighter moments of the year, actor Marvin Agustin launched “FishBlock”, which is a fishball dish paired with an NFT minted on the blockchain. This initiative is in support of Philippine Blockchain Week.
Sold for 1,000 KIKI (approx. ₱356 at that time), it was marketed as a way to make blockchain relatable. However, the crypto community was divided. Critics called it a “gimmick” that trivialized the tech, while others argued that any entry point for the masses is a net positive for adoption.
May: Crypto’s Dark Side (The Anson Que Case)
The narrative turned dark in May during the investigation into the kidnapping of businessman Anson Que.
Authorities revealed that ₱200 million in ransom was laundered through casinos and converted into cryptocurrency.
This case was a turning point for law enforcement. The PNP and AMLC successfully subpoenaed VASPs to trace the funds. Then, with the help of Binance and Chainalysis, they froze portions of the assets.
June: QR Ph Goes Crypto (Before the Crackdown)
Closing out the first half of the year, international giants Bybit and Bitget rolled out integrations with QR Ph, allowing users to pay everyday merchants using crypto.
It felt like the peak of mass adoption if you can buy coffee with USDT via a standard QR code.
However, this ‘peak feeling’ was short-lived.
By August, the SEC flagged both exchanges for operating without licenses.
July: Government Experiments On-Chain
While the private sector continued discussing with regulators, the government (or rather some government agencies) quietly adopted the technology.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), in partnership with Bayanichain, launched a platform to mint Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) as NFTs on the Polygon blockchain.
This was a massive leap for GovTech. Instead of relying on paper trails, citizens could now verify budget releases immutably. This paved the way for Baguio City and Bataan Province to launch their own “GoodGovChain” initiatives later in the year.
August: The Bitcoin Reserve Bill
Rep. Miguel Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur) made headlines by filing House Bill No. 421, proposing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the Philippines.
The bill suggests acquiring 2,000 BTC annually to be held for 20 years. While the bill is still pending in committee, it forced a national conversation: Should the Philippines hedge against inflation using digital gold? The lawmaker discussed that in a follow-up interview with BitPinas.
September: NPC Bans World (Worldcoin)
The tension that started in Bulacan in February reached its breaking point. On September 23, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) issued a cease-and-desist order against Tools for Humanity, effectively halting all iris-scanning operations. This order was publicized the next month.
The NPC ruled that consent obtained through monetary incentives was not “freely given” and that data collection was excessive. Whether one agrees with the NPC or not, it’s still a landmark ruling, as the NPC asserted that it’s their agency, and not the DICT, that has sole jurisdiction in all matters related to data privacy in the Philippines.
Tools for Humanity complied. It remains to be seen if the iris operations will resume in 2026.
October: The CADENA Act Takes Shape
Senator Bam Aquino rebranded his “Blockchain the Budget” bill into the CADENA Act (Citizens’ Access & Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability).
Moving away from mandating “blockchain” specifically, the bill pivoted to being “tech-neutral” while still requiring an immutable, open-source audit trail for government spending. It represents the maturation of policy because it now focuses on the outcome (transparency) rather than just the buzzword.
As AI advocate Dominic Ligot put it, the eventual CADENA bill is a work of hundreds of advocates — some are public figure, some are not — to change the bill’s controversial first version. (Read more: [Op-Ed] Ann Cuisia: How the CADENA Act Finally Gets the Point)
As of December 2025, the Philippine Senate passed the CADENA Act. It will become a law only after both the Senate and the House unify their versions into one bill for the President to sign.
November: The “Dual Engine” (Gaming & Finance)
November proved that the Philippines is running on two powerful engines: Culture and Capital.
1) The Cultural Engine: YGG Play Summit 2025 From November 19-22, Manila transformed into the “City of Play.” The YGG Play Summit returned to SMX Aura, drawing over 5,600 attendees and proving that the “Guild” model has successfully pivoted.
2) The Financial Engine — Project Bayani: Just days later, on November 27, the industry pivoted to hard finance. PDAX, in partnership with Saison Capital and Onigiri Capital, unveiled “Project Bayani,” a landmark white paper mapping the future of Philippine wealth.
- The $60 Billion Opportunity: The report projects that the Philippine tokenized asset market (bonds, equities, real estate) will reach $60 billion (₱3.4 trillion) by 2030.
- Infrastructure in Your Pocket: CEO Nichel Gaba highlighted that we don’t need to build new rails; with 14% of Filipinos already owning crypto (vs.
November showed us the complete ecosystem. We have the gamers building the culture (YGG) and the financial rails ready to monetize it (Project Bayani).
December: The Great Firewall (NTC Blocks 50 Exchanges)
The year ended with the most aggressive enforcement action to date. On December 23, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), acting on a direct request from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), ordered the immediate blocking of 50 unlicensed Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
While the government did not release the full list of targets, BitPinas confirmed that major global platforms — including Coinbase and Gemini — became inaccessible to users on Globe, PLDT, and DITO internet connections.
- The Technical Block: Users attempting to access these sites were met with security certificate errors (NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID), a hallmark of ISP-level blocking similar to the ban implemented against Binance earlier in the year.
- The Legal Basis: The crackdown was enforced under BSP Circular No. 1206, emphasizing that only entities with a local VASP license are legally allowed to facilitate crypto-fiat exchanges in the country.
- The Confusion: The move coincided with reports of users losing access to global stockbrokerage firm Interactive Brokers (IBKR), though regulators clarified that the BSP directive specifically targeted crypto VASPs.
Conclusion: The Growing Pains of Legitimacy
As 2025 comes to a close, the mood in the Philippine crypto space is a mix of optimism and frustration.
This bookend of regulation proves that the Philippines is ready to lead in governance.
The year ended with a shock. The NTC’s blocking of 50 unlicensed platforms in December was a bitter pill for many in the community. For traders and early adopters, losing access to global tools feels restrictive, a stark reminder that the “borderless” promise of crypto is colliding with the hard borders of national regulation.
But friction often precedes growth.
If 2025 taught us anything, it is that the Philippines is no longer just a passive consumer of foreign technology. We are becoming an active architect of our own digital economy.
- We saw the government move beyond banning to actually using the tech for transparency (DBM & Bataan).
- We saw educators like Luis Buenaventura and Cryptita ensure that the next generation understands this technology, not just as a trading tool, but as a skill.
- We saw lawmakers pass the CADENA Act, ensuring that blockchain has a permanent place in our governance.
The gates to the “old” crypto world may be closing, but the foundation for a sovereign, resilient CryptoPH has never been stronger.
Bring on 2026.
This article is published on BitPinas: 2025 Philippine Crypto Year in Review: 12 Stories That Defined Crypto in the Philippines
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