PDAX

PDAX (Philippine Digital Asset Exchange, Inc.) is a BSP-licensed cryptocurrency and digital asset exchange headquartered in Taguig City, Philippines. Founded in 2018 by Nichel Gaba, who serves as President and CEO, PDAX operates under a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license granted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas — the country's central bank — making it one of the first formally regulated crypto exchanges in the Philippines. The platform is built around a core mission of financial inclusion: giving Filipinos across all income levels straightforward access to digital assets, investment instruments, and financial services through technology.

What Problem It Solves

Traditional brokerage accounts and bond markets in the Philippines have historically required minimum capital that put them out of reach for most retail investors. A 2025 PDAX report found that crypto ownership among Filipinos stands at approximately 14%, far exceeding equity (2.4%), bond (less than 1%), or mutual fund participation. PDAX addresses this gap by bundling regulated crypto trading, tokenized government bonds, stablecoin yield products, and an OTC desk into a single mobile-first platform, with cash-in and cash-out options spanning major banks, e-wallets, and over-the-counter partners.

How It Works

PDAX operates as a centralized custodial exchange regulated under BSP's VASP framework, with National Privacy Commission accreditation. Users fund accounts in Philippine pesos and trade against the platform's order book. Security infrastructure includes two-factor authentication, enterprise-grade encryption, and an insurance-backed audited wallet solution. The platform is available on iOS, Android, and web, with a separate Huawei AppGallery release.

Asset settlement for government bonds is handled through a tokenization layer that allows the Bureau of the Treasury's instruments to be held on-chain. PDAX serves as one of two primary distribution channels — alongside GCash — for the Philippine government's retail bond program, enabling minimum investments of ₱500 (approximately $8.50), a significant reduction from prior minimums that locked out most retail participants.

Key Features and Products

Cryptocurrency Trading: PDAX supports over 26 digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Sushi, BNB, Solana (SOL), and multiple stablecoins (USDT, USDC, PYUSD). SOL was added to the platform in May 2022 alongside BNB, XLM, and SUSHI. The exchange offers standard spot trading with limit orders and a peso cost averaging feature that automates scheduled purchases — a practical tool for the peso-denominated retail market.

Tokenized Government Bonds: Through the PDAX Securities product (bonds.ph), the platform distributes Treasury Bills and Retail Treasury Bonds issued by the Bureau of the Treasury. As of late 2024, nearly half of all government bond account holders in the Philippines own their bonds in tokenized form, a statistic PDAX cites as evidence of mainstream blockchain adoption in the country. The GBonds program, launched in partnership with GCash, extends PDAX's bond infrastructure to GCash's 83–94 million user base without those users needing a separate PDAX account.

PDAX Prime: An over-the-counter service targeting larger or more experienced traders, providing access to 21 or more in-demand digital assets alongside a dedicated Treasury Team and exclusive educational resources.

Hold and Earn: A staking-style product offering up to 12% annual percentage yield on USDC and USDT holdings, with a minimum equivalent of ₱250 and weekly reward distributions.

Mintoo and Digital Collectibles: A digital collectibles marketplace integrated into the PDAX platform, focused on NFTs from Filipino brands and creators.

Remittances and Platform Solutions: PDAX offers cross-border remittance services using crypto rails and a B2B Platform Solutions product for institutional or business clients.

Solana Ecosystem Fit

PDAX has deepened its integration with the Solana network across multiple products. The exchange lists SOL as a tradeable asset and has run promotional campaigns — including the 2024 "Soaring Solana" initiative offering free SOL incentives on purchases — to drive adoption among Filipino retail users.

Stablecoin support reflects a deliberate Solana preference. PDAX lists USDC natively on the Solana network, giving users access to the faster and lower-cost SPL token version. In July 2024, the exchange migrated PYUSD (PayPal USD) from Ethereum to Solana, automatically converting existing Ethereum-based PYUSD holdings for existing users. The rationale cited was the same that PayPal gave when it originally expanded PYUSD to Solana: materially lower transaction fees and faster finality.

Project Bayani and Tokenization Strategy

In November 2025, PDAX published Project Bayani, a white paper co-authored with Saison Capital and Onigiri Capital. The paper estimates that the Philippines' total addressable tokenization opportunity could reach $60 billion by 2030, broken across public equities ($26B), government bonds ($24B), and mutual funds ($6B). The report positions PDAX as a foundational infrastructure layer for this market, pointing to the existing government bond distribution program as proof of concept that retail blockchain adoption at scale is achievable within the Philippine regulatory environment.

Team and History

Nichel Gaba (Nichel Merlmichael O. Gaba) founded PDAX and continues as President and CEO. The exchange has operated for over seven years, having received its BSP VASP registration in October 2018. The mobile application launched in December 2020 with initial support for BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, and USDT and has since expanded the token list substantially. The company has received coverage from ANC, Forbes, Business World, Philstar, CNN Philippines, CoinDesk, and Cointelegraph, and is frequently cited in Philippine fintech policy discussions as a flagship example of a domestically regulated digital asset platform.