Caloocan City Representative Edgar “Egay” Erice has filed a measure that aims to use cryptocurrency as a tool to lower the cost of sending money home for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Under House Bill No. 4792, also known as the Philippine Tokenization and Crypto Adoption Act of 2025, the lawmaker seeks to establish the National Council on Digital Assets and Tokenized Investments (NCDATI) to regulate and promote the safe use of digital assets in the country.
Erice said that the measure is designed to provide OFWs with faster and more affordable remittance options compared to traditional channels that charge high transfer fees.
“Itatatag ang National Council on Digital Assets and Tokenized Investments (NCDATI) para gumawa ng malinaw na rules para sa ligtas at maayos na paggamit ng crypto,” Erice explained. “Magbibigay ito ng proteksyon laban sa scam at mapanlinlang na gawain at bibigyan ng boses ang ordinaryong Pilipino, kasama ang OFWs at civil society, sa paggawa ng polisiya.”
The bill outlines safeguards against scams and fraudulent schemes while encouraging citizen participation in digital asset policymaking. It also envisions broader retail crypto adoption among local businesses and greater transparency in government transactions through blockchain technology.
“Sa pamamagitan ng batas na ito, magkakaroon ng malinaw at makataong gabay ang bansa sa paggamit ng digital na pera,” the Caloocan lawmaker said.
If enacted, the bill would serve as the national framework for regulating cryptocurrency, decentralized finance, tokenization, and stablecoin use in the Philippines.
The measure, currently pending with the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, builds on the growing use of blockchain-based remittance systems by companies such as Coins.ph, PDAX, and Cebuana Lhuillier—platforms that have been leveraging crypto and stablecoins to make remittances faster and more affordable for Filipinos abroad.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, OFW remittances reached $17.59 billion in the first half of 2023, up 3% from the previous year, driven largely by inflows from the United States, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
