Buying Bitcoins in the Philippines: Why Investing In Bitcoin Is The Best Thing You Can Do TODAY

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how Bitcoin has reached its all-time high of P380,000/BTC, or roughly around $7,600. As I write this blog, Bitcoin has reached its new ALL TIME HIGH at around $17,000 over at cex.io, and over P850,000 at Coins.ph.

So why is buying BTC still the best thing you can do now?

Think of it like planting a tree. The next best time to plant a tree is NOW. Pick up your seed and plant it in TODAY so you can reap the fruits tomorrow.

If you've been reading my old blog posts, you probably noticed that I held 0.43BTC in July 2016, which was around P13,000 at that time. Yes, the exchange rate back then was 1BTC = P30,000. I cashed out also that month because it was the most practical thing to do while playing Bitcoin slots - cash out whenever you have already reached more than what you put in.




With the current trend, Bitcoin is gaining around 29% per day, 69% per week and 125% in a month. That's WAY more than banks, mutual funds, time deposits or any other instrument available in the market today. Mutual funds and other stocks typically yield around 2% to 5% per year, time deposit rates are at less than 1% for certain amounts, and have long holding times, and savings account interest rates are at a measly .25%.

Let's take the following example. You have P10,000 today and decided you want to invest. How much will it earn in a year?

• SAVINGS ACCOUNT - P10,025. LESS withholding tax. Sorry!
• MUTUAL FUNDS - putting it at 3%, you're getting P10,300 after a year.
• TIME DEPOSIT - Guess what? You typically can't! Most banks have a minimum amount of P50,000.

And then we take the trend of Bitcoin!

• P10,000 will buy you roughly .011765BTC. 
• After a year, if the trend goes well and it indeed goes up by 1000%, your .011765BTC will be worth P100,000.

Now, how do you exactly buy Bitcoin, or change from Pesos to Bitcoin? What is the easiest way to Buy Bitcoin in the Philippines?

Here's a step-by-step process:

1. SIGN UP FOR A COINS.PH ACCOUNT

Why Coins.ph? Because it's the CHEAPEST way to fund your Bitcoin wallet without too many fees. Cebuana Lhuiller and M. Lhuiller charges roughly around P40 to P90 only even if you cash-in P50,000! Other exchanges, such as CEX.IO, charges you roughly around P700 for a $200 cash-in order.

2. CLICK CASH-IN. It will take you to THESE choices. Choose the most convenient for you.

TIP: The cheapest way to cash-in funds is through Cebuana Lhuiller. They charge P40. Next is M. Lhuiller, around P90 pesos. Next would be G-Cash, which is roughly P35 for a P2,500 cash-in. 7-11 charges you P400 for a P20,000 cash-in amount. All the other methods are also good in terms of fees BUT they are not instantly credited to your account unlike Cebuana Lhuiller, M. Lhuiller and G-Cash. G-Cash has a limit of P2,500, however. 

3. AFTER CHOOSING THE METHOD TO FUND YOUR COINS.PH ACCOUNT, INPUT HOW MUCH YOU'RE GOING TO CASH-IN AND WAIT FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR PHONE OR IN YOUR EMAIL.

They'll be providing you with an account number or reference number to use when paying over-the-counter. Also, make sure you're cashing in to your PHP wallet! Seems like ever since BTC exploded, Coins.ph doesn't allow you to directly convert your PHP to BTC.

4. ONCE YOU'VE PAID, YOU'LL IMMEDIATELY SEE YOUR MONEY INSIDE YOUR WALLET. 

With the exception of the other payment methods, CoinsXpress through the Lhuiller pawnshops and G-cash, and also 7-11 will give you your credits in merely seconds.

5. THEN COMES THE HARD PART. CONVERTING. OR BUYING.

Before, it was easy to convert PHP to BTC. Just click PHP Wallet, CONVERT at the bottom, and you can easily convert. Today, because of Bitcoin's boom, however, big orders of BTCs cannot be processed. Remember, the rate for which you're buying is the BUY at the upper left. You have to BUY LOW and SELL HIGH to make profit.  

TIP: Divide your conversion into chunks of smaller amounts, such as P3,000. It's easier to grab BTC that way.

6. ONCE YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED IN CONVERTING, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE NOW THE OWNER OF X.XXXXX BTC :)

Again, to make a profit, you have to BUY LOW AND SELL HIGH. If you bought at P500,000, you should wait for the SELL to be higher than P500,000. There is usually a 3% difference between Coins.ph's BUY and SELL Prices, because of course, they also have to make a profit. Think of it as a digital foreign exchange platform where your local exchange counter sells you USDs for P52 but buys it back at only P50.5. Same thing here.


7. SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW? YOU HOLD. YOU WAIT. YOU DON'T CASH OUT. 

Because of the rate that the Bitcoin is going, it's not surprising that it MIGHT hit P1,000,000 per Bitcoin in early 2018. If you're buying now at P850,000, and you want to double your money, HOLD ON A LITTLE LONGER. Be patient. Remember, .01BTC worth P300 last year is now P8,300 :)

Most people say that a price correction is due, say a dip of around P300,000, before it stabilizes again after a few months. When that happens, I suggest that you HOLD YOUR BITCOINS and let it grow and stabilize again.


IF you still don't know anything about Bitcoin, please visit this LINK right here.

I hope this guide has helped you in putting some of your money into Bitcoin. Again, PLEASE DO NOT INVEST RECKLESSLY. If you have some of that 13th month money left, even 20% of it will go a long way if you invest wisely.

Cheers!

K