Coins.ph very own Country Manager, Jen Bilango, is steering one of the Philippines’ leading cryptocurrency exchanges and e-wallet platforms toward a future of financial empowerment.
With a background in investment banking, Bilango brings a unique perspective to the rapidly evolving blockchain industry, blending traditional finance expertise with a passion for innovative technologies.
Under her leadership, Coins.ph has become a cornerstone of crypto adoption in the Philippines, a country ranked among the global leaders in blockchain uptake. The platform not only facilitates seamless crypto trading but also offers practical financial services like bill payments and mobile load purchases, making it a vital tool for millions.
That said, UseTheBitcoin got the opportunity to interview Jen Bilango, the Country Manager of Coins.ph, during the recent Philippine Blockchain Week 2025 in Manila.
UTB: Can you tell us more about Coins.ph?
Jen: Coins.ph is a licensed crypto exchange in the Philippines. We also have an e-wallet that you can buy load and pay bills easily, all in one app. We also operate in other countries—Thailand, Nigeria, Australia, and Brazil.
UTB: With your background in traditional finance, what do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities in integrating blockchain-based solutions like Coins.ph with conventional financial systems?
Jen: One of the biggest challenges, I would say, is really the compliance side—either aligning, or, you know, bypassing or leapfrogging altogether—because our financial system has been around for thousands of years, and it is just built on top of itself. So, there’s a reason for that; it didn’t just happen overnight. There are a lot of considerations they needed to adjust, mainly from a compliance standpoint, but also from a security standpoint.
So, what we are now looking into is, you know, adopting blockchain, which we really believe is a natural progression of the financial ecosystem. Everything you transact right now, from a financial standpoint, will move into blockchain—because it’s just a technology; it’s like the internet, right?
So, that’s the biggest hurdle, because we are now at the gap wherein the technology is there, but incumbents are not implementing or adopting it. So where’s that gap? It is for them to understand that it aligns with what we need and, at the same time, leapfrogs us into making it faster, better, and cheaper.
UTB: The Philippines ranks high in global crypto adoption. How do you envision Coins.ph shaping the country’s role as a leader in the Web3 revolution, and what specific initiatives are you prioritizing to drive this?
Jen: Yeah, so last cycle, the Philippines is actually one of the countries with adoptions that are, like, crazy through the roof. Historically, the Philippine market is still lagging behind. I came from an investment banking background, and it’s really close to my heart: we want to give Filipinos financial empowerment. Financial inclusion—we’re done, because everyone has a wallet, everyone has a bank account to some extent, but they don’t have access to what’s next. And what’s next for the Filipino public is basically: how can I grow my capital? If I have a good idea, how can I borrow capital to fund my startup? And how do I also receive money from people working abroad, right?
So, we are past financial inclusion. What we aim to achieve now is financial empowerment—we can empower the Filipino people by making their remittances affordable, providing them with investment options, and ensuring it is as easy and secure as possible. And lastly, giving them a way to borrow funds cheaper, not predatory lending, which has been the practice for the longest time in the Philippines.
So, those types of things elevate the middle class, which, you know, has been growing. We’re one of the countries where the middle class and consumption are still growing. We have a young population, and we’re at a demographic sweet spot. So, from our vantage point, we will be the ones, hopefully, facilitating all those financial empowerment and making those features available in the app.
UTB: As a woman working in the predominantly male crypto industry, what advice would you offer to other women who are interested in entering the field?
Jen: I came from investment banking, so it’s not so different. But I think crypto is one of those places where, when I started, people didn’t even know they were talking to a female. So it’s one of the industries where you can begin anonymously and get judged based on merit.
It’s evolving quite a bit, but if you look at big exchanges, they’re being run by female executives. We keep things moving; we’re in the background. It’s just that the males are the face of the companies, but the people who make things work are women. If you want to get things done, get a woman [laughs].
UTB: Looking five years ahead, what does success look like for Coins.ph in the global blockchain ecosystem, and how do you plan to position the Philippines as a hub for crypto innovation?
Jen: You know, in Philippine Blockchain Week, you see regulators, you see the government being supportive, you see retail and participants. So, it’s quite a constructive discussion about how we can make sure to incubate this new technology. You don’t see that as much in other countries, where there are more in the defensive approach. Here, we are more welcoming, so that incentivizes players like us—the private sector—to invest and put money into it.
I think that would drive more capital into the Philippines and hopefully bring in more companies to innovate here, because we already have the users, right? So, if you are a blockchain company and you’re building for your users, it’s here, and you need to be closer to your users to have a faster feedback loop.
From our side, we believe the Philippines is in a sweet spot to be friendly to new technologies and blockchain companies building in this space. And five years from now, I would hope everyone is onchain, right? All your transactions will be onchain—even when you buy a stock, it’s also onchain. When you send money back home, it’s via blockchain and arrives instantly.
Our vision at Coins is that—we always say this, actually—is that we want money to move at T+00. That means it’s instant and zero cost, because that’s the only time when you remove the middleman who siphoned off fat in the market, and then just empower the end users and those who produce. So, that’s our vision—hopefully within five years.
For further information on Coins.ph and to stay updated on their announcements, please visit their official social media channels provided below:
👉 Website: https://coins.ph/
👉 Coins.ph’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coinsph/
👉 Coins.ph’s Twitter/X: https://x.com/coinsph
👉 Coins.ph’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coins-ph/
👉 Jen Bilango’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-bilango/
