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Democratization. Transparency. Security.
These are the three distinct advantages of tokenizing government-issued bonds on the blockchain. This consensus was reached during a panel discussion featuring Nichel Gaba, CEO and Founder of locally licensed crypto exchange PDAX; Sharon Almanza, National Treasurer of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr); and Luis Buenaventura, Head of Crypto and VP at GCash.
The panel, moderated by ABS-CBN correspondent Michelle Ong, was conducted during the launch of Project Bayani, a new whitepaper from PDAX, Saison Capital, and Onigiri Capital on the future of tokenization in the Philippines. (Access the whitepaper here.)
Democratization: Breaking the ₱500,000 Barrier
According to Gaba, when bonds were restricted to traditional banking systems, investors typically required a minimum of ₱500,000 to purchase government securities. He explained that this high barrier wasn’t because banks were greedy, but because they needed to recover their operational costs.
“When I first got exposed to cryptocurrencies and then obviously blockchain technology, I realized that is the solution. This is the solution because it democratizes the cost of recording ownership. And if you apply that technology to securities, which is called tokenization, you can then create a more inclusive market.”
Nichel Gaba, CEO and Founder, PDAX
Tokenization creates a digital representation of asset ownership, allowing it to be fractionalized. This means investors who cannot afford the traditional ₱500,000 minimum can now buy a portion of the asset. Gaba emphasized that through PDAX and GBonds (the bond-trading feature on GCash), the minimum purchase amount for tokenized bonds has been lowered to just ₱500.
Transparency: A 24/7 Portfolio
Almanza, who is an investor herself, noted that while trading hours for tokenized bonds on PDAX and GBonds are still limited by regulation, investors gain the ability to view their portfolios and place orders 24/7.
Gaba agreed, calling this a “very real advantage” for Filipinos who lack the time to physically visit banks. Both PDAX and GBonds are integrated with Bonds.ph, a registered bond broker and dealer.
“It’s very transparent because if you need liquidity for your investment, you can liquidate your position because you can sell—and it’s shown in the app.
And that one is not available if you are actually investing in a traditional sense because you have to call your bank if you want to liquidate. You have to do all those interventions.”
Sharon Almanza, National Treasurer, Bureau of the Treasury of the Philippines
Security: Smart Contracts are Doing the Thing
Gaba highlighted that investment records are not just stored on a private database, but recorded immutably on the blockchain. By placing government-issued bonds into smart contracts, ownership is “as secure as ever.”
“In the past, we’ve done bond switches, where you surrender an off-the-run security to get better liquidity with a new issue. So, those things can be built into smart contracts.
Because we’re building securities on the blockchain, we can program the coupon payments, we can build the coupon payments into the tokens themselves.”
Nichel Gaba, CEO and Founder, PDAX
The “Hybrid” Reality and Regulatory Cooperation
Despite the technological leap, Gaba admitted the initiative follows a hybrid model. Since the underlying assets are government securities, they remain heavily regulated.
Under the Securities Regulation Code, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandates strict investor protection, fair disclosure, and the use of registered brokers.
“In order to do everything in a compliant manner, we have to have one foot on-chain, and one foot still in the traditional world.”
Nichel Gaba, CEO and Founder, PDAX
The CEO revealed they are applying a multi-phase strategy to digitalize the market, noting there are “still a lot of lessons to be learned,” and they are currently in a testing phase.
Looking Forward: Which Should Also Be Tokenized?
According to the 2025 Project Bayani report, there is potential for 100 million Filipinos to become tokenized asset owners in the near future.
Worth Reading: Project Bayani: PH Tokenized Asset Market Could Reach $60B by 2030 — PDAX, Saison Capital, Onigiri Capital
Gaba expressed hope that tokenization will expand beyond bonds to include shares in the Philippine Stock Exchange and even real estate, though he stressed that new legislation might be required.
Meanwhile, Almanza is looking forward to utilizing blockchain to track government expenditures, enhancing public transparency.
Finally, Buenaventura highlighted the potential for a tokenized Philippine Peso, citing the GENIUS Act in the U.S. — a legal framework for issuing U.S. dollars on the blockchain.
“Certainly, U.S. dollars have existed on the blockchain for about a decade now. There’s about $250 billion dollars on the blockchain. I think it’s high time that the Philippine peso be put on the blockchain in that same way.”
Luis Buenaventura, Head of Crypto and Vice President, GCash
The GCash executive argued that a tokenized Peso would offer massive gains in capital efficiency, allowing it to exchange programmatically with tokenized dollars, bypassing traditional banking methods that are slower and more capital-intensive.
A Short Explanation on Bonds
A bond is a security where an investor lends money to a borrower. After a set date, the borrower must repay the lender with fixed interest. Bonds issued by the Philippine government are called Treasury Bonds (T-bonds), and the agency responsible for their issuance is the BTr.
Worth Reading:
This article is published on BitPinas: ‘One Foot on Chain, One Foot Off’: Why the Philippines is Moving Toward a Fully Tokenized Economy
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