BSP Considers Subscription Fees for Digital Payments to Lower Costs
That, and more news in today's weekly recap!
GM. How’s your first work week of 2025? It feels like it flew by—although that might just be because we’re in the news business.
By earliest tomorrow, all the major crypto and web3 guide articles on our website should have been updated. Actually most of them are but they are still not on the live website. We’ll begin with the airdrops and then the specific chains.
Onwards to our feature news and the weekly recap:"
Market Analysis and Updates 📈
Here are the crypto highlights of the day:
Crypto Price Update:
Bitcoin (BTC): $94,283.67, down 4.7% in the last seven days.
Ethereum (ETH): $3,256.27, down 10.7% this week.
Solana (SOL): $186.33, down 13.2% vs the previous seven days.
For the daily price update, check out our post on Facebook.
Feature: BSP Considers Subscription Fees for Digital Payments to Lower Costs
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is exploring the possibility of replacing per-transaction fees with subscription-based pricing for digital payment platforms. This move aims to reduce transaction costs and support financial inclusion.
Subscription Model: BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. described the current per-transaction fee model as suboptimal, emphasizing the potential benefits of a larger payment network supported by fixed subscription fees, Inquirer reported.
Stakeholder Consultation: BSP is engaging with industry participants to develop a consensus on the proposed fee structure.
Free Small Fund Transfers: A draft circular suggests making small fund transfers free, subject to thresholds set by the BSP. (Read more: BSP Governor Explores Eliminating Minimal Transfer Fees)
Industry Resistance: Some banks expressed concerns about users splitting large transactions into smaller amounts to avoid fees, complicating the payment system.
Current Fee Landscape:
InstaPay: Averages at ₱10 for personal accounts and ₱30 for corporate.
PESONet: Fees vary between ₱8 and ₱600 for individual transfers.
(Read more: What is InstaPay and PESONet Philippines?)
(Read the article in full on our website.)
Weekly Philippine Crypto News 🇵🇭
MetaGaming Guild is now a SOPHON Node Operator.
Paytaca shared that it has onboarded its first merchant partners of the year—Pink Berry Massage Spa in Mandaue City and Evercare Pharmacy in Cebu City.
ICP HUB Philippines and DEVCON Philippines announced the renewal of their partnership for 2025.
Bitpinas articles:
The Philippine web3 community shared their opinion on the recently released SEC draft CASP rules.
CoinEx community celebrated its 7th anniversary by hosting a chess tournament at the University of Batangas.
The BSP lifted the moratorium on the application for license on digital banks, effective January 1, 2025.
Last Week on the BitPinas Webcast 📺
We talked with legal expert Atty. Rafael Padilla to discuss the implications of the SEC’s proposed draft crypto rules.
Noteworthy 🌟
Key updates and announcements from around the crypto and blockchain world:
AI models predicted significant price increases for major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRP by 2025.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is liquidating millions of dollars worth of memecoins, including DOGE and SHIB, to fund his Kanro charity.
An analysis found that 68% of crypto advice on TikTok is misleading, with many promoting cryptocurrencies and unrealistic returns without proper disclaimers.
Donald Trump launched "Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards" on Bitcoin's Ordinals protocol.
Educational Corner 🎓
Keep up with local regulation: Key Takeaways on SEC Draft Rules on CASPs
2025 Checklist: Expectations of the local crypto community on CEXs
First webcast of 2025: Balancing Act or Overreach? Examining the SEC Draft Crypto Rules in the Philippines
Monthly update: Tokenless Wallet List
Regulation Watch 📜
Stay informed about the latest regulatory updates and what they mean for you:
Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton calls for a congressional investigation into the FDIC's alleged politically motivated attempts to marginalize the crypto industry.
U.S. prosecutors estimate that over one million individuals may have been victims of Do Kwon's alleged crypto fraud scheme.
Coinbase won a key legal victory against the SEC, with the court allowing an appeal while halting proceedings, sparking optimism in the crypto community.
Thailand will pilot crypto payments for tourists in Phuket, allowing foreign visitors to use Bitcoin for goods and services within legal frameworks.
More Web3 and AI News 💡
Discover the latest in web3 and AI innovation.
Phantom crypto wallet denied rumors of an upcoming token launch, stating it has no plans for an airdrop, while also announcing support for the Sui blockchain.
Solana's latest proposal introduces a "lattice-based" hashing system designed to scale the blockchain to handle billions of user accounts efficiently.
Arbitrum is partnering with South Korea's Lotte Group to integrate its blockchain into Lotte's AI-driven metaverse platform, Caliverse.
SBI Group and Solana Superteam Japan launch an NFT campaign to boost Solana's growth and Web3 adoption in Japan via SBI's regulated web3 wallet.
Web3 Gaming Section 🎮
The future of web3 is gaming, and here are the latest news.
Hamster Kombat is expanding to HamsterVerse, a new entertainment ecosystem, and launching a layer-2 network on TON blockchain.
ZKcandy aims to build the first Telegram-based EVM gaming ecosystem with AI agents, backed by iCandy's AAA gaming connections.
Illuvium will use Virtual Protocol's AI agents to enhance NPC interactions and gameplay, starting with Overworld.
Sonic SVM, in partnership with Galaxy Interactive, launched the G.A.M.E. Fund to support Web3 gaming, AI agents, and TikTok tools with up to $1 million per project.
Event Announcements 📅
Don’t Miss Out: Upcoming events, webinars, and meetups in the crypto space!
Cebu Blockchain Conference: January 17-18, 2024
IRL BitBulaga - Level Up: The 2025 Crypto Forecast : January 25, 2025
The Age of Play: Fan Engagement Supercharged⚡Manila Edition: February 21, 2025
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