As world-leaders in social media, mobile gaming, fintech, cryptocurrencies, and now, Web3, Filipinos have always been at the forefront of technology adoption. Since the play-to-earn phenomenon caught the world’s attention in 2021, the country has been firmly positioned at the epicenter of the Web3 movement as Filipinos demonstrate how the real-world can benefit from crypto, NFTs, and the open Metaverse.
This November 14-18 in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), in Metro Manila, the Philippine Web3 Festival will convene founders, developers and gamers with an international community of NFT games, venture capital (VC) funds and leaders in the space looking to learn how the Philippines was catapulted onto the world stage and what the future holds for Web3. The Festival has been instigated by local web3 success stories, Yield Guild Games (YGG) led by Gabby Dizon, Beryl Li and Owl of Moistness, and BlockchainSpace (BSPC) led by Peter Ing.
“We were the first Filipino-led crypto project to break onto the world stage, and since then, the Philippines blockchain ecosystem has exploded,” said Dizon, co-founder of YGG. “The Philippine Web3 Festival is the first truly international showcase of Filipino talent and we are bringing the world’s best in Web3 to the Philippines to see it for themselves.”
In addition to Dizon, the speaker lineup features Web3 industry leaders such as the co-founder of Axie Infinity, Jeffrey ‘Jiho’ Zirlin, chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, Yat Siu, and co-founder of The Sandbox, Sebastian Borget, whose decentralized gaming platform recently collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, and others.
Throughout the week, Sequoia Capital Investor Associate Augustus Ilag, Dragonfly Capital Partner Mia Deng, Mechanism Capital Principal Eva Wu, Delphi Digital Game Economist Ryan Foo, Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC) Founding Partner Brian Lu, and other global VC funds, will present on why they look to the Philippines to uncover emerging Web3 trends.
Global cryptocurrency exchange and official exchange of the festival, Binance, stressed the significance of the country in paving the way for Web3 innovation. “Since the Philippines has potential as one of the big players in the Web3 space, we believe it is important to support the initiatives and movements to develop the industry further,” said Kenneth Stern, General Manager of Binance Philippines.
Mobile wallet GCash also joins the Philippine Web3 Festival as a co-presenter. “GCash remains true to its commitment to provide ‘finance for all’-- making products accessible to Filipinos, as it aims to do the same in Web3 while the space continues to grow in the country,” said Neil Trinidad, Head of New Businesses Crypto Insurance and Data Tech of GCash.
Also joining as co-presenters of the Philippine Web3 Festival are Globe Telecom, the official connectivity and telco partner, and MetaverseGo, the preferred platform to access Web3 Games, Guilds, NFTs.
The event will also feature sessions from leading blockchain protocols including Polygon, TZ APAC, the Asia-based blockchain adoption entity supporting the Tezos ecosystem, and Xpla, a Tendermint-based and developer-friendly chain that hosts an ecosystem of decentralized applications and developer tools. In addition to the speaker lineup, attendees will enjoy a major esports tournament, a hackathon, NFT exhibits, and networking at community-led side events.
“Those of us in the Philippines cryptocurrency space have been coming together to share ideas and collaborate since 2019, when we first hosted Jiho from Axie Infinity and introduced him to the community in Manila,” said Ing, founder of BlockchainSpace. “Since then, Filipinos have been instrumental in the growth of blockchain gaming, we are shaping the future of this industry and now the world wants to come to the Philippines to see what is next.”