Veteran tech executive Wei Zhou and buyout fund Joffrey Capital closed their acquisition of Coins.ph earlier this month, the private equity firm has confirmed.
Zhou will serve as CEO of Platform, an industry-leading fiat and crypto wallet service with more than 16 million users in the Philippines, one of Asia’s fastest growing Web3 markets.
Founded in 2014, Coins.ph pioneered cryptocurrency services in the Philippines, becoming the first blockchain-based company in Asia to hold both an electronic money issuer and a virtual currency license from Bangkok Central ng Pilipinas.
The recent ownership change was completed after receiving approval from the regulators.
Zhou, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, also served as CFO at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by transaction volume, before stepping down last year.
In addition to leading Coins.ph, he will also serve as the CEO of the platform’s holding company, which also operates Thailand’s leading mobile blockchain-enabled platform Coins.co.th.
In an interview with a crypto news site, Zhou said that the new management team wants to bring Coins.ph back to its roots as the Philippines’ most established brand in the crypto space.
Plans include a relaunch for Coins Pro Exchange with support for many more blockchains and tokens, as well as the introduction of the Coins.ph token to reward users of the platform.
The previous management team saw it focus on e-wallets and payment services, which focused not only on digital assets and tokens, but also on traditional fiat currency payments, a space in which it competes with traditional telecommunications providers and banks. Was.
Zhou and Joffrey Capital see further value creation opportunities in strengthening the platform’s crypto-native credentials to connect digital-first Filipino users to real-world goods and services.
Recent years have seen an increase in engagement with Web3 in the Philippines, driven by the successful success of Axi Infinity, an NFT-based online video game.
Coins.ph recently added support for the Ronin sidechain, which allows Axie Infinity players to easily move their assets in and out of the game. Once in the Coins.ph platform, in-game returns quickly become fiat currency.
The new owners say it will make a significant technology investment in Coins.ph to help serve a growing segment of crypto-hungry Filipino users.
Upgrades to the platform’s basic technical infrastructure, including the release of a new app, will see the platform add several new tokens and products, as well as support for additional blockchains including Solana, Avalanche and Polygon and BSC.
These enhancements include not only technical work and innovations, but also engagement with regulators. Coins.ph has significant goodwill in the form of an established, trusted brand and a long track record of manufacturing fully regulated products and services.
The new shareholder stipulation is that a new management team has focused the crypto DNA of the platform and technological investments towards improving the user experience, positioning Coins.ph as the Philippines’ ‘National Champion’ in the Web3 space. Will give you the opportunity to strengthen your position.