As calls for a “Zero Remittance Week” gain traction among Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), experts say the rise of cryptocurrency as an alternative remittance channel may complicate both the organization and impact of any potential boycott — even though crypto remains largely used behind the scenes rather than directly by consumers.
Remittance Boycott Faces Real-World Hurdles
The idea of withholding remittances as a form of protest has surfaced repeatedly over the years, often during moments of political or economic unrest. The current wave of “Zero Remittance Week” discussion, which is being floated by supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is no exception, says columnist and historian Manuel L. Quezon III on X.
He admitted, however, that such movements are difficult to organize and even harder to quantify.
“Problems are: how to measure and if [they’re] capable of being organized enough to have impact in a specific time,” Quezon wrote.
“Alternative ways to remit (e.g., crypto) makes measuring even harder.”
Manuel L. Quezon III, Columnist and Historian
Crypto as Alternative May Be Just Overhype — Crypto Thought Leader
In response to online chatter about using cryptocurrency as a workaround during a remittance pause, Luis Buenaventura, crypto thought leader and head of crypto at GCash, said the reality is far less dramatic.
“Crypto-powered remittances in the PH rarely occur at the consumer level (i.e., OFWs), regardless of how much we’d like to hype it up. In general, it’s more of a back-end settlement mechanism, which means that it’s still trackable as part of the usual regulated flow.”
Luis Buenaventura, Head of Crypto, GCash
Crypto Adoption in the Philippines
Despite limited use in direct remittances, crypto activity in the country has surged:
- The latest publicly available information from the government is that from January to September 2020, local crypto transaction volume rose 36%, from $5.3 million to $7.2 million.
- In Chainalysis’ 2024 Geography of Cryptocurrency report, the Philippines’ total cryptocurrency value received was $43.1 billion.
Traditional Channels Still Dominate Remittance Landscape
In 2024, OFWs sent a record $38.34 billion back to the Philippines — a 3% increase from the previous year. These funds accounted for 8.3% of the country’s GDP and 7.4% of its gross national income.
Money transfer operators, banks, and mobile wallets continue to process the vast majority of those funds.
This article is published on BitPinas: Crypto Complicates OFW ‘Zero Remittance Week’ Push — But Impact May Be Overhyped, Says Expert
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