Y Combinator-backed stock trading platform Cera rolls out in the Philippines

Cera's platform makes the US stock market accessible as it allows investing as little as $2

Cera, a US stock trading platform backed by Y Combinator, in partnership with Fireblocks, announced its  Beta launch, allowing Filipinos and anyone anywhere in the world to invest in US stocks using stablecoins.

Cera enables users to invest in US stocks using stablecoins such as USD Coin, Tether (USDT), and Binance USD. Each of these coins is pegged to a value of $1, ensuring stability and eliminating the hassle of complex account setups and international transactions.

UnionBank gets BSP nod, becomes first and only PH universal bank to offer mobile crypto trading

Proving its status anew as an industry trailblazer, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently achieved another first in the industry after securing a Certificate of Authority from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to operate as a virtual asset service provider (VASP), making it the first and only universal bank in the Philippines to offer virtual asset exchange services. 

With the full VASP license from the BSP, the Bank can now extend virtual asset exchange services to a broader base of UnionBank customers through the award-winning UnionBank Online app. These virtual asset exchange services previously were accessible only to randomly selected users of the app through a limited virtual asset license. 

Union Bank of the Philippines Enters the Metaverse with the Ark of Dreams

Recognizing the explosive growth of blockchain, NFTs, and cryptocurrency globally, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), the country’s digital innovation pioneer, has embarked on a journey to become the first Philippine bank in the Metaverse, in partnership with Filipino Blockchain startup Ark of Dreams. 

UnionBank has always been at the forefront of technological innovations to empower consumers and make them future ready. It was the first Philippine bank to introduce the following that have been game-changers in the way we do banking: (1) mobile banking through wireless application protocol-enabled cellphones; (2) launch a banking website; (3) use an online payment card through EON; (4) use a chat bot (“Talk to Rafa”); (5) launch its own stablecoin (PHX); (6) introduce mobile check deposit through its award-winning app UnionBank Online; (7) opened the first fully digital bank branch in the country, The ARK; and, most recently (8) the first Philippine bank to go fully on the cloud. 

TZ APAC and BitPinas Successfully Organize First NFT-Minting Contest in the Philippines

BitPinas, a local crypto news publication, and TZ APAC, the leading adoption entity for the Tezos ecosystem in Asia, successfully organized #tezmasPH, the first ever NFT-minting contest in the Philippines. Twenty five Filipino artists submitted their entries all depicting how Filipinos celebrate its longest holiday - the Christmas season. BitPinas and TZ APAC, together with visual artist Jopet Arias and community partners Crypto Art Philippines and NFT Philippines, are thrilled to announce the winners of this inaugural NFT competition:

UBX leads in Crypto: Becomes first in world to run a public stake pool

UBX, the fintech venture studio and fund spun out of UnionBank of the Philippines, is opening its own public stake pool featuring Cardano. UBX becomes first in the world to run a public stake pool as a regulated institution. UBX Staking provides Filipinos a reputable and trustworthy source to earn rewards on their ada for helping to secure and operate the Cardano blockchain. 

John Januszczak, President and CEO of UBX said, “The Philippines' adoption of cryptocurrency is opening opportunities for financial institutions to create reliable platforms that will guide and support Filipinos with their finances. UBX is fully committed to maximizing blockchain technology such as that of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Hyperledger. To further excel and maximize the potential of blockchain, we’re looking at emerging protocols like Cardano to connect traditional financial markets to the world’s most innovative Financial Operating System.”