Coinbase Global Inc. COIN is advancing its Southeast Asian expansion through stablecoin initiatives in Thailand and the Philippines, as cryptocurrency markets reach new heights amid expectations of a more crypto-friendly U.S. administration.
What Happened: Jesse Pollak, founder of Base and head of Coinbase Wallet, emphasized the strategic importance of local currency stablecoins for mass blockchain adoption in Southeast Asia, reported Nikkei on Thursday.
While Coinbase Exchange isn’t immediately entering these markets, the company’s wallet business and Base blockchain platform are targeting developers in Thailand and the Philippines to build infrastructure supporting baht and peso stablecoins.
“When you bring a local currency ‘onchain,’ it solves a few problems,” Pollak said in an interview. “If you have a Thai baht stablecoin, it’s literally the same money but just faster, cheaper and easier to use.”
The expansion comes as Bitcoin BTC/USD surges over $100,000, driven by optimism surrounding the incoming U.S. administration’s crypto policies.
Why It Matters: Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad recently highlighted the potential for swift crypto legislation under the new government, citing “the most pro-crypto Congress ever in history.”
Thailand has already shown openness to stablecoin innovation, approving its first cross-border payments solution using stablecoins in October. Similarly, the Philippine central bank greenlit a peso stablecoin pilot program by Coins.ph in May.
Coinbase is leveraging these regulatory developments through partnerships like its collaboration with Siam Commercial Bank, which launched Rubie, a stablecoin wallet built on Base.
Industry experts at the recent Benzinga Future of Digital Assets conference emphasized stablecoins’ critical role in bridging traditional and digital finance. Chuck Mounts of S&P Global Ratings noted that “Stablecoins are… positioned to be the accelerant to the mass adoption for tradfi firms and crypto financial capabilities in the marketplace.”
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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