Coins.ph, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-regulated cryptocurrency exchange platform, sees higher demand for meme coins as their prices have increased up to fivefold since the firm listed them first for domestic investors.

In an email to Daily Tribune, Coins.ph said the most sought has been $PNUT whose price has spiked five times higher after listing.

This is followed by $MOODENG and $TURBO which have posted prices two times bigger than the initial amount.

Fictional characters

Memecoins display fictional characters, images, icons and other artworks which also include the portrait of technology leader Elon Musk promoting his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The memecoin’s ticker is $DOGEGOV.

“By accessing these assets before they’re available on other exchanges, our users can take advantage of the price momentum which often follows when tokens gain wider exposure,” Coins.ph chief executive officer Wei Zhou said.

Cryptocurrencies are similar to stocks whose prices increase when demand for them rises and can be used to purchase goods and services from cryptocurrency accepting entities.

Using Coins.ph app, Filipinos can participate in cryptocurrency trading.

Launched in 2014, Coins.ph said it has attracted over 18 million app users.

Second biggest

Data from Chainalysis, a cryptocurrency market researcher and consultancy, show that the Philippines has the second biggest population adopting cryptocurrency after Vietnam.

Coins.ph said Bitcoin is still among the most traded cryptocurrency.

Global market researcher Statista said the revenues from the cryptocurrency market in the Philippines could still grow to over $641.5 million by next year as the country’s population of cryptocurrency traders expands by nearly nine percent.