By Edd K. Usman
A new cryptocurrency platform anchored on blockchain technology has entered the Philippines. CoinLancer, a United Kingdom-based startup, will target Filipino freelancers, its executives said during a media briefing in Makati City.
CoinLancer intends to raise $50 million via an initial coin offering (ICO) of 300 million coins or tokens, Jonathan Paul Tinoco, CoinLancer director for marketing, said.
?You can now purchase our token for $0.25 each,? he added, referring to the ICO which started two weeks ago and will end on November 14.
Filipinos and/or freelancers who wish to participate can visit CoinLancer?s website, register, then buy a Bitcoin or Ethereum so they can participate in the platform, said Tinoco.
The company is also using Coin.ph where one can buy a token and also send remittance.
CoinLancer, which was recently launched in Malaysia and India, plans to expand its platform in 2018. It is based on Ethereum freelancing platform that uses the growing blockchain technology, said to be un-hackable and un-editable.
The platform will empower freelancers, Amarjit Singh, one of CoinLancer?s advisers, said.??One major benefit for the freelancers is they are able to dictate (their transaction) and they are able control how much they make, how much they earn,? he assured.
While other platforms collect lots of fees, which turns off several cryptocurrency groups, CoinLancer, which is just a platform, collects a 3-percent fee, Singh said.
As a result, freelancers will benefit because there will be no more central hubs that charge as much as 10- to 20-percent service fees per transaction, Singh explained.
Freelancers ?can have major savings [and] make more money,? he added.
And since CoinLancer is anchored on blockchain technology, nobody can alter how much they are charging (3 percent).??It is program in the script of blockchain,? Singh said.
Singh believes their platform ?will definitely help the economy because power will be going to shift from the government to the people.?
Tinoco noted that Ethereum on which CoinLancer is based sold its token for 0.25 cents each in 2016, now its token is around $800.
The Filipino executive of the UK-based platform said it is about time the Philippines leverages cryptocurrency.??I think this technology can (benefit) us not only in the earning side but also the benefit of using cryptocurrency in the future,? Tinoco said.
He emphasized, however, they are not forcing Filipinos to go into cryptocurrency. “We came in to create awareness,” he said.
PH should follow Malaysia?s lead
Sai Teja, another CoinLancer adviser, said the company is not competing with any cryptocurrency platform.
He suggested the Philippines follow the lead of Malaysia which formed a task force to study the digital currency, and Japan which spent over a year to study it. He believes millennials can do a good job of leveraging cryptocurrency.
Teja is optimistic of their platform’s prospects ahead.
CoinLancer was designed to accept at least 20 types cryptocurrencies, among them, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.
Unlike flat currency which can be regulated by the central bank of the country, cryptocurrencies is not subject to regulation, which means it cannot be devalued, Singh said.
In a prepared statement, the executives said their ?protocol design uses smart contract-based escrow mechanism, creating a platform fair to both clients and freelancers.
Coinlancer aims to reinvent the freelancing community, using the latest blockchain technology and virtual currencies.?
