Over a decade ago, cryptocurrencies and blockchains were such a foreign concept that most citizens of the world had simply raised an eyebrow at and ignored completely, unwilling or unable to understand why others continued to choose to invest in it.
Flash forward to now when cryptocurrency has pretty much hit the mainstream. More and more Filipinos are owning and creating NFTs. Gamers found a new way to earn amid a pandemic through blockchain-based play-to-earn game “Axie Infinity.” Local payment platforms and even a major bank are or will soon offer cryptocurrency trading and custodial services. It’s no question that cryptocurrency has become a part of our daily lives!
But even as the Philippines rests at the top among all countries in cryptocurrency adoption, it’s apparent that there is a lack of crypto-literacy. According to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 74% of Filipinos surveyed are aware of cryptocurrencies, but a whopping 83% struggle to comprehend what they actually are and how they work.
This led to six individuals to launch Bitskwela, a edutech platform that will make cryptocurrencies and blockchains much easier to understand for Filipinos of any ethnicity!
Bitskwela currently offers 13 modules and over 40 topics covering the Bitcoin network, alongside a 5-minute comprehensive course, animated video lectures, check-in quizzes per module, and a glossary of over 100 crypto terms simplified for better understanding.
Learners will also have access to blogs and podcasts once they are made available.
The modules will be offered in four major local languages, starting with English, Tagalog, Ilokano, and Cebuano, to ensure accessibility!
“Filipinos are aware of cryptocurrencies but majority don’t understand them well. Combine all these, and you come up with a population investing hard-earned money into an asset class they don’t understand. Proof of this is the billions of pesos lost over the past few years due to local cryptocurrency scams; this is what Bitskwela aims to solve,” said the Bitskwela team in an interview with When In Manila.
“The team envisions a country that stops seeing crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or NFTs as scams, ponzi schemes, or ‘fake money,’” they added. “Everyone at Bitskwela believes that education is the root problem that needs to be addressed to help the Philippines not lag behind on crypto with the rest of the world.”
As Bitskwela expands, the program aims to cater to speakers of other major languages such as Ilonggo, Bicolano, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense, and to educate Filipinos on other crypto assets such as layer 1s, DeFi (Decentralized finance), NFTs, stablecoins, and DAOs to further hone a holistic learning environment for the cryptocurrency space.
Learn more about the platform and explore all its features at: bitskwela.com!
Do you have a story for the WhenInManila.com Team? Email us at story.wheninmanila@gmail.com or send us a direct message at WhenInManila.com Facebook Page. Interact with the team and join the WhenInManila.com Community at WIM Squad! We also share our stories on Viber, join us!
