One of the biggest universal banks in the Philippines, The Union Bank of the Philippines, or simply UnionBank, said on 2 November 2022 that it has begun a pilot program for Bitcoin (BTC) custody and trading services for a select group of retail customers.
UnionBank went online on Harmonize, a digital asset platform developed by Metaco, a Swiss crypto technology company, as part of the debut of the new investment and trading function. In January 2022, UnionBank and Metaco formed their first joint venture for the creation of cryptocurrency trading services.
UnionBank, which is authorized and governed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine government’s central bank, has been actively investigating the cryptocurrency market recently. A stablecoin geared toward payments and pegged to the Philippine peso was introduced by UnionBank in 2019.
In order for UnionBank to achieve its goal of offering “customer-centric” services in the Philippines, Metaco has been essential, according to Henry Aguda, chief technology officer and chief transformation officer. He added that UnionBank is one of the nation’s first regulated cryptocurrency adopters, saying,
“We are proud to continue UnionBank’s series of industry firsts, this time being the first regulated bank in the country allowing digital currency exchange features for clients.”
The announcement follows Ferdinand Marcos, the president of the Philippines, who stressed the significance of embracing blockchain technology to master digital banking and digital commerce.
Marcos mentioned numerous associated UnionBank milestones in a formal presidential speech that was released in September 2022, stating,
“The track record of UnionBank in creating opportunities through innovation and digital solutions in the banking sector is uncontested.”
Bitcoin Adoption Increases Despite Rumors Of BTC Death
Leading mainstream media publications have proclaimed BTC dead 24 times in 2022 alone, according to data from 99Bitcoins. Through October of this year, sources have identified BTC as a dead coin on average 2.4 times.
With headlines like “Crypto is like a venereal illness,” “Bitcoin will run out of greater idiots,” and “Bitcoin Is A Decentralized Ponzi Scheme,” the negative press against Bitcoin peaked this year. Here are all the articles on Bitcoin being pronounced “dead” in 2022.
There are still two months left in 2022, and by December, additional headlines claiming “Bitcoin is dead” may appear. Additionally, after Terra UST and Luna reached zero in May 2022, Google searches for “Will Bitcoin drop to $0” increased.