About Coins.ph
Coins.ph, operated by Betur Inc., is one of the Philippines’ earliest and best-known fintech and crypto startups, co-founded in 2014 by Ron Hose and Runar Petursson. It began as a cryptocurrency marketplace before focusing on becoming a broader digital wallet for the large share of Filipinos without easy access to traditional banking.
The platform grew quickly, reaching several million users by 2018, and is licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), a regulatory status it has held since 2017.
In January 2019, Indonesian ride-hailing and payments company Gojek acquired Coins.ph in a deal reported at roughly $72-95 million — one of the first clearly documented startup exits in the Philippine tech ecosystem. Gojek later divested Coins.ph in 2022 to Joffre Capital and Wei Zhou (a former Binance CFO), in a deal reported at around $190 million, as Gojek narrowed its focus to a smaller set of core markets.
The Problem They're Solving
A large portion of Filipinos have historically lacked access to formal bank accounts, making it difficult to store money digitally, send remittances, or participate in early cryptocurrency and digital-asset markets through traditional financial channels.
Coins.ph addressed this by building a mobile-first digital wallet and crypto on-ramp that did not require a traditional bank account to use.
Who They Serve
Unbanked and underbanked Filipino consumers needing a digital wallet for storing and moving money, plus users wanting to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency through a BSP-licensed, locally regulated platform.
What Makes Them Different
Coins.ph was one of the first Philippine startups to combine a genuine cryptocurrency exchange with a mass-market digital wallet aimed at the unbanked, rather than treating crypto as a niche product for existing banked, tech-savvy users only.
Its early, sustained regulatory engagement with the BSP (holding a Virtual Asset Service Provider license since 2017) gave it legitimacy and staying power through multiple ownership changes (Gojek's 2019 acquisition, then its 2022 divestment) that many newer, less regulator-engaged crypto platforms have not achieved.
Traction & Milestones
Reached several million users by 2018. Acquired by Gojek in January 2019 for a reported $72-95 million; later divested by Gojek in 2022 to Joffre Capital and Wei Zhou for a reported approximately $190 million.
The Founders
Ron Hose
Co-Founder
Runar Petursson
Co-Founder