About Town | Mr. Katalyst himself at Bitcoin and Blockchain Forum 2018 in the Philippines

Bitcoin & Blockchain technologies are fuelling one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The cryptocurrency community in the Philippines experienced a first of its kind event with the “Bitcoin and Blockchain Forum 2018” last February 24, 2018 at the Ortigas Foundation Library, F Building, Ortigas Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. The forum brought together the Philippines’ top specialists in the cryptocurrency market and blockchain technologies -- shared their experience and knowledge in integrating blockchain across the government, banking, trading, healthcare areas among some.

One of the featured speakers in the forum was Joe Maristela III of Katalyst, he talked about the potential of financial technology in the Philippines particularly about the use of blockchain technology in healthcare. Joe is a serial entrepreneur and prominent independent investor who has, since 2015, lobbied the government to become more proactive and inclusive about “disruptive” technologies such as Bitcoin, the Blockchain and other cryptocurrencies. He has personally invested millions of dollars in startup companies that aim to revolutionize finance for SMEs and outsourcing offices here in the Philippines.

In this event Joe shared his insights about the potential of blockchain in healthcare and the value of supporting and investing in Filipino homegrown businesses.

Here’s the partial transcript of Joe’s talk during the event.
“All of these financial technology startups, so called fintech companies, are or have successfully executed capital raises via innovative channels, such as via coin offerings through the traditional Blockchain, or proprietary versions and hybrids of Blockchains, or corporate P2P technologies that resemble the Blockchain in some form, but offer a layer of competitive enhancements in areas such as security, B2B-specific scenario technology specifications, as well as other areas.

And for me personally, what is important to me, is that each office that I’ve personally invested in, in the Philippines is Filipino, through and through; run by Filipinos, incorporated in the Philippines, operating in the Philippines. These aren’t expat subsidiaries; or startups incorporated in the Philippines only to use Manila as a trampoline into ASEAN and APEC.”

Maristela has established several businesses engaged in markets ranging from healthcare business process outsourcing to financial services. Some of these businesses are: PediaHealth Medical Group

PediaHealth is a clinic-network, with medical and healthcare operations on the West Coast (USA). PediaHealth is known for being an early adopter of technology, and deploying technologies in healthcare in medicine in new and creative ways. PediaHealth served as a beta testing facility, which tested various communications technologies from Google, including Hangouts and Google's enterprise class video conferencing software.

Qwikwire Qwikwire is a fintech startup which is making huge strides in streamlining overseas payments and remittances for offices of the likes of Ayala, Century, and others. Satoshi Citadel Industries

Satoshi Citadel Industries or SCI which Joe seeded with $200k and whose flagship services and Blockchain technology platforms, Rebit.ph and BuyBitcoin.ph, has pegged the Philippines as a major innovator in the international financial technologies industry.

Acudeen Acudeen aims to revolutionize SME financing by providing a platform and ecosystem for so called investors to buy and sell invoices and purchase orders.

The Bitcoin and Blockchain Forum 2018 aims to open the discussion on potential-application areas and use cases for blockchain technology by exploring real-world implementations.

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