Bitspark, a bankless money transfer solution utilizing blockchain technology, has launched peg.PHP – the first market-ready cryptocurrency pegged to the Philippine Peso (PHP).
“The launch of peg.PHP is part of our ongoing commitment to use blockchain technology to improve the money transfer ecosystem, including bill payments. There are more than 180 official currencies today and blockchain technology can unlock currencies that were previously gridlocked into isolated or illiquid markets,” said George Harrap, Co-Founder, and CEO of Bitspark.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are backed by and pegged to the price of existing real-world assets. The announcement follows Bitspark’s most recent launch of the world’s first Hong Kong dollar stablecoin (Sparkdex.HKD).
peg.PHP began listing on Sparkdex, Bitspark’s decentralized exchange (DEX), and Bitshares connected DEX, on April 16th, 2018. The stablecoin is marketplace agnostic and can be integrated into other exchanges as well.
Okra Solar, a company with off-grid solar solutions for remote regions, is currently running a pilot to use Bitspark’s payment network in the Philippines. This will be the first time that stablecoins will be used in the background for bill payments.
“Bitspark’s payment platform will be a real game-changer for remote communities that are being connected to our energy solutions. What’s remarkable is that for our customers it’s just making a familiar PHP transaction – the only difference is it’s digital. We’re really excited to pilot this out, the impact could reach millions of families in the Philippines alone” said Afnan Hannan, Co-founder of Okra Solar.
Most of the customers accessing Okra’s energy solutions are based in remote communities and cannot afford the fixed transaction fees that traditional mobile money operators charge on small transactions.
Okra’s customers can pay their solar bills in PHP via the Bitspark App, or via cash deposit at one of the shops in Bitspark’s network. peg.Php will run in the background of the solution reducing the cost of transactions to virtually zero fees and will not require them to physically send out cash collection agents from the mainland.