The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has signaled that the country is ready to accommodate the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), with four companies already testing tokenized products inside its regulatory sandbox, StratBox. Speaking at Philippine Blockchain Week 2026, SEC Commissioner Rogelio Quevedo said the regulator is “now fully convinced” that existing laws and supervisory frameworks can support asset tokenization without new legislation.
SEC’s StratBox Sandbox: Four Firms, Four Use Cases
The SEC’s StratBox sandbox, launched in 2024, allows fintech firms to test products under direct regulatory supervision with temporary waivers on certain requirements. As of November 2025, four companies had been admitted into the program. One participant is testing a tokenized real estate offering, two others are evaluating products that provide access to United States equities, and a fourth—BlockShoals Technologies—received in-principle approval to test crypto-related services.
Quevedo emphasized that sandbox participation does not exempt companies from existing laws and cannot be used to bypass regulatory obligations. The SEC’s position is that the country’s Securities Regulation Code and the commission’s rule-making authority already cover the issuance, sale, and trading of security tokens.
Tokenized Government Bonds: From ₱500 to 400,000 Users
The most concrete RWA use case in the Philippines is already live. In November 2023, the Bureau of the Treasury launched the country’s first tokenized treasury bonds. Through partnerships with PDAX and GCash, retail investors can now purchase tokenized government bonds for a minimum of just ₱500 (approximately $8), down from the previous ₱5,000 threshold.
National Treasurer Sharon Almanza reported that the bonds.ph mobile app has surpassed 400,000 users, though she noted this remains small relative to the trillion-pesos universe of government securities issued. Only around 0.01 percent of government securities are currently tokenized—roughly ₱1 billion worth—which Almanza views as an encouraging starting point rather than a ceiling.
The $60 Billion Opportunity: Project Bayani
A white paper titled “Project Bayani: The Philippines’ Asset Tokenization Opportunity,” launched by PDAX in collaboration with Saison Capital and Onigiri Capital, estimates the country’s tokenized-asset market could reach $60 billion by 2030. The breakdown includes $26 billion in public equities, $24 billion in government bonds, $6 billion in mutual funds, and $4 billion in other assets.
The report highlights a striking paradox: approximately 14 percent of Filipinos already own cryptocurrencies—translating to an estimated 15 million users—while fewer than 5 percent participate in traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. PDAX CEO Nichel Gaba called this a “unique advantage,” stating that “the infrastructure to deliver tokenized assets to millions of Filipinos already exists in their pockets”.
OFWs as a Target Beneficiary Group
Commissioner Quevedo framed tokenized investment products as a tool to protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who often have available capital but lack access to legitimate investment channels, leaving them vulnerable to fraudulent schemes. The SEC is using artificial intelligence to identify illegal investment offerings and is collaborating with Google and TikTok to remove scam content targeting Filipino investors.
At the same time, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has tightened requirements for virtual asset service providers, mandating more extensive due diligence before listing cryptocurrencies for customers—a parallel move that signals both openness to innovation and stricter oversight.
For a market where mobile wallet penetration has already surpassed bank account penetration, tokenization represents less a technological leap than a natural extension of existing financial habits. As Kate Wang of Onigiri Capital put it during the Project Bayani launch: “Unlike markets where tokenization begins with institutional traders, the Philippines begins with inclusion”.