Press release. This content is provided by Philippine Blockchain Week and is not Cryptured editorial coverage.
MANILA, Philippines — More than 12,000 local and international delegates gathered at the SMX Convention Center Manila for Philippine Blockchain Week (PBW) 2026, held over three days under the theme Decoded: Deployed. The fourth edition of the event set out to show how blockchain, artificial intelligence and digital assets are already being used across government, finance and business, rather than explaining what they might one day do.
The programme featured more than 150 speakers, over half of them from international markets, across sessions on blockchain, AI, cybersecurity, governance and entrepreneurship. PBW opened with Future of Trust: A Leaders Forum on Technology and Governance, which brought government officials, regulators and technology companies together to discuss how emerging technologies can strengthen transparency and public trust. The forum’s message was that innovation succeeds through the institutions and partnerships that enable responsible deployment, not through technology alone.
From vision to movement
PBW Co-Founder Chezka Gonzales said the event had grown from a conference into a movement, pointing to the way local builders, regulators and global companies now meet in the same room. Donald Lim, also a co-founder, framed the Philippines as a market that has shaped global crypto products rather than only adopting them.
“The Philippines has been a leader in innovation for many years. Social media has played a major role in incubating new platforms here, and Axie Infinity became a global phenomenon because of the Philippines,” he said.
The week also leaned into culture and community. The launch of Viral PH spotlighted the creator economy, while the ALT+TAB Gaming and Music Festival combined gaming, esports and live entertainment. Hackathons, startup showcases and the Founders Arena connected early-stage teams with investors and ecosystem partners.
From conversation to deployment
Panels returned repeatedly to tokenised real-world assets and payments. One session, Scaling the Future of Finance: Payments, Stablecoins & Global Adoption, brought together Raj Nandwani, Global Head of BD and IMA at Binance, Alice Truong of Nuvei and Chengyi Ong, Director of APAC Policy at Circle — a line-up that mirrors the wider shift of stablecoins into mainstream payment flows.
Varun Chugh, External Financial Advisor of BiGod Token, used gold to make the tokenisation case. “Gold has served as a store of value for centuries, yet it remains one of the most difficult assets to transact. At BiGod, we aim to make that asset simple, accessible, and cross-border. We have already demonstrated this by using our token to facilitate payments here at Philippine Blockchain Week,” he said.
A second panel, From Physical to Digital: Bringing Real-World Assets On-Chain, was moderated by Vit Jedlička of Liberland with speakers from XDC Network, Bitpanda Enterprise and XPHERE.
With more than 12,000 attendees and over 150 speakers, the organisers argue PBW 2026 showed the Philippines moving from an emerging participant to a growing force in the global digital economy. On the evidence of the programme, Decoded: Deployed described where the industry already stands rather than where it is heading.
Sources
- Philippine Blockchain Week — official website
- Philippine Blockchain Week 2026 post-event press release, supplied by BrandPR (31 July 2026)
