Bull or Bear La Union: Blockchain on the beach

Bitskwela is a Philippine edutech startup focused on accelerating crypto adoption regionally in the Philippines.

Bull or Bear La Union: Blockchain on the beach
The event will be held at Baybayin Hub in San Juan, La Union. Image credit: Baybayin Hub Coworking Space San Juan La Union Facebook page

Last November, Bull or Bear: Philippine Web3 Debate started out as a side event at the Philippine Web3 Festival. Now Bull or Bear organizer Bitskwela is starting the year by bringing it to the beaches of La Union – the surfing capital of the North in the Philippines.

"We learned that the key to web3 mass adoption is web3 education not just of interested web2 natives, but also directly with decision makers of enterprises and government units. Which is why after our first Bull or Bear: Philippine Web3 Debate, we built Bull or Bear: Regionals where we collaborate with enterprise and government decision makers to bring web3 education to their local areas. Last year, we did Bull or Bear: Davao. This year, we're starting with Bull or Bear: La Union," Bitskwela CMO JC Macalintal told Digital Life Asia.

Conversations on crypto

Macalintal was responding to my question on the most important lesson that they learned from the first edition of Bull or Bear. Bitskwela is a Philippine edutech startup focused on accelerating crypto adoption regionally in the Philippines by providing inclusive web3 education for Filipinos, by Filipinos.

Bull or Bear is a Philippine Web3 Debate event series where key opinion leaders hold conversations and raise arguments on cryptocurrencies and blockchain in the Philippines.

Co-presented by Gcash, Yield Guild Games, and Baybayin Hub, Bull or Bear: La Union will be held at San Juan, Baybayin Hub, La Union on March 17.

La Union, which is becoming a popular tourist destination, is also starting to experience web3 culture. In fact, the Philippine Web3 Festival held its two-day afterparty in La Union.

"Getting our co-presenters, Baybayin Hub – who have two hubs in La Union – is intentional as web3 is now intersecting with the tourism industry. And they're also a decision maker in the space as they're leading the tourism industry with multiple hubs in the Philippines that are designed for co-working and co-living," Macalintal said.

The Bull or Bear: La Union debaters include Chezka Gonzales of Women of Substance NFT, Patty Tiu of Filipinas NFT and Surge Pay, Renz Chong of BreederDAO, Jen Bilango of Blockchain Space, Mark Nunez of Gcash, and Luis Buenaventura of YGG. The debaters will be moderated by Bernadette Misa of Playdex.

Making web3 mainstream

Asked what developments he would like to see in the Philippine Web3 community to further accelerate mainstream adoption, Macalintal replied: "Personally, I'm looking forward to how each web3 company executes their 'learning hub' to onboard more users and members to their cause. Last year, builders realized the importance of building their own 'NFT (non-fungible token) marketplaces'. This year, builders are realizing the importance of education to help people understand why their technology is important."

Macalintal said that they plan to work with more enterprise and government decision makers this year. After Bull or Bear: La Union, Bitskwela will be at the upcoming Boracay Bitcoin Retreat, he said.

"This year, we're expecting web3 to intersect with the creator economy, music, and pop culture. Two upcoming web3 events that are doing these are the WSB ASIA COLLAB FEST 2023 organized by COINCHELLA and CONQuest Festival 2023 organized by AcadArena," he said.

So, are you bullish or bearish on web3 in 2023? What's important is to get the right information – and keep the conversation going.

Digital Life Asia is an official media partner of Bull or Bear: La Union