How to Buy Ethereum in the Philippines - Beginner's Guide (2024)

How to Buy Ethereum in the Philippines - Tutorial

Our guide focuses on eToro as it is our overall best place to buy Ethereum in the Philippines. However, these steps can be applied to other crypto exchanges in this guide.

1. Open an account

Click on the Start Investing button on the homepage to get started. Fill in your details on the signup form and create an account. You can also download the mobile phone app from the Play Store/App Store and do the same.

2. Verify your account

You’ll receive an email verification link when you create an account. Click on it to start the process. Complete your profile by submitting details like your date of birth and a passport photo, after which you complete the KYC process by submitting documents. These documents include proof of ID (National ID or driver’s licence) and proof of residence (utility bill).

3. Make a deposit

Once your account has been verified, click on Deposit Funds on the left pane of your dashboard. The deposit options available will be displayed. Choose one and set the amount you’d like to deposit. You can deposit Philippine pesos directly using credit/debit cards, bank transfers, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, or Payoneer.

4. Buy Ethereum the Philippines

Search for Ethereum in the Discover tab. An interface like the one below should load. You can buy immediately at market price or set a price you’d like to buy at.

Is Ethereum a Good Investment?

We cannot outright say whether or not Ethereum is a good investment. However, we can give pointers to help you arrive at that decision yourself.

Decentralisation

Firstly, Ethereum is decentralised. It does not depend on governments to legitimise it or companies to run and maintain its blockchain infrastructure. Transactions are free from many of the controls and drawbacks of traditional finance networks like high fees for international transfers.

As the digital age progresses, more components of our lives will be moved to the digital space. Crypto technology mathematically safeguards digital assets and places ownership with users, making it crucial for a free digital future.

Liquidity

Cryptos are generally very liquid and portable assets. They can be bought on one crypto exchange, moved to another exchange in a different country and sold in a matter of minutes, creating a way to move wealth easily.

High Return Potential

Ethereum has a track record of delivering high returns on investment either due to its extremely volatile nature or more fundamental reasons like growing adoption and institutional interest. Combine this with the fact that blockchain technology is still in its early stages, and the growth (and profit) potential is significant.

Store of Value

Crypto can be used as a long-term store of value, especially those that are scarce, like Ethereum. Because supply is capped, the value of finite coins is projected to grow over time, provided demand grows. This makes Ethereum a possible long-term alternative to gold.

Portfolio Diversification Option

Ethereum is a digital asset that can be used as an asset class when building a diversified portfolio. Its equity potential (the possibility to increase in value) makes it worthy of consideration for modern portfolios.

Risks of Buying Ethereum

There are downsides to buying Ethereum. The first is its volatility. Crypto is known to swing wildly, losing significant portions of its value within a few weeks and often leaving investors reeling from losses.

There is also a risk of rug-pulls, blockchain attacks, and wallet hacks. These are technological risks that involve an attacker hacking a crypto’s blockchain network or your wallet and usually ends with funds getting stolen.

Finally, crypto at large is still the target of legal crackdowns and harsh regulatory policies that could stunt its growth and adoption rate.

What Payment Methods Can I Use to Buy Ethereum in the Philippines?

Ideal payment methods should support Philippine peso natively, and while not all platforms allow deposits in pesos, these are the methods you can easily use to buy Ethereum in the Philippines.

Credit/Debit Cards

Credit or debit cards are probably the most accepted payment method across platforms but also the most expensive. eToro and Oanda don’t charge fees, but those of Binance are about 1.8%. On other platforms, fees generally range between 1% – 3%.

Discover the best places to buy Ethereum with a debit card.

Bank Transfers

Local transfers through a Filipino bank account are available on a number of crypto platforms. It is free to use a bank transfer on eToro and costs up to 20 PHP on PDAX. A conversion fee may be charged for deposits in currencies other than the account-denominated currency.

PayPal

PayPal is one of the most popular payment services and electronic wallets in use today. However, it is not as widely supported as the first two payment methods. For example, Oanda and PDAX do not support PayPal as a direct funding method in this region, but eToro supports free PayPal deposits.

Learn where to buy Ethereum with PayPal in our comprehensive guide.

Cash via ATM

A crypto ATM is an easy way to buy ETH with cash or a card, although it can be a much more expensive and complicated process than using an online platform. There are 13 crypto ATMs in the Philippines, mostly located in Manila, with 2 in Taguig City, 1 in Parañaque, and 1 in Pasay.

Ways to Invest in Ethereum in the Philippines

There are several ways to gain exposure to Ethereum and profit from its price movements in the Philippines. This section dives into them and how they relate to Ethereum.

Buy and Hold Ethereum

The buy-and-hold strategy involves buying Ethereum and holding it for a long time, usually as long as you can. This strategy is popular in the industry as it has proven to be effective over long periods, usually years.

This strategy can be varied using a buying technique called dollar cost averaging (DCA) where you buy a set dollar amount of Ethereum at fixed intervals regardless of price.

Trade Ethereum

This strategy profits from Ethereum’s volatility. Trading ETH involves relatively short-term buying and selling, usually from as little as a day to as long as a year. Positions held for longer are often classified as investments.

Trading creates an opportunity to explore other financial derivatives like futures, options, and CFDs that give traders exposure to ETH’s price movement without the need to buy the coin. It also allows for leverage facilities that can magnify traders’ wins (or losses).

Choosing a Ethereum Wallet in the Philippines

Ethereum wallets are important because they store your valuable cryptos, so choosing the right one is crucial. Crypto wallets are generally split into hardware and software wallets. Hardware wallets store cryptos offline on a device while software wallets store cryptos online and are always connected to the internet.

Software Wallets

• Web wallet: These wallets come as either browser extensions or web apps that store your private keys in your browser. Web app variants are accessible through any browser. However, the extension variant must be installed on a new browser and a seed phrase must be used to recover your wallet. eToro, Binance, and PDAX provide free web wallets that store Ethereum.

• Mobile wallet: This wallet is a mobile app downloadable from the Play/App stores or the internet. Binance’s mobile wallet is called Trust Wallet and it supports Ethereum.

• Desktop wallet: This is an application that runs on your computer and stores your private keys on your hard drive. There are several desktop wallets available depending on the level of control you want and your familiarity with blockchain technology. However, a good option for beginners is the Electrum wallet available for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs.

Physical and Hardware Wallets

• Hardware wallet: A hardware wallet is a physical device that stores private keys offline. They are much harder to hack and are currently the safest storage option. Hardware wallets that support Ethereum include Trezor and Ledger.

• Paper wallet: A paper wallet is a piece of paper with public and private keys printed on them. While they are a good way to keep your private key offline, they are not recommended as you may lose the paper or the ink could wear off with age. Paper wallets have gone out of fashion since the advent of hardware wallets.

Wallet Combinations

You can combine two or more wallets for added security or a better user friendlyexperience. For example, you can use a hardware wallet like Ledger with a web wallet extension to buy coins on a decentralised exchange and immediately send them to your hardware wallet.

Should I Buy Ethereum Now? - Things to Consider Before Buying Ethereum in the Philippines

Whether or not you should buy Ethereum now depends on the state of the economy, your investment goals, your risk tolerance, and the cost of investments. Consider these factors when making a decision.

Ethereum Fees

The total cost of buying Ethereum is made up of Ethereum network fees, exchange fees, and deposit fees across exchanges.

The network fee is the charge the blockchain takes for processing transactions. This fee usually goes to computers that help secure and run the network. It could rise and fall based on the volume of transactions for certain blockchains, but newer networks are built to accommodate high volumes without significant changes to transaction fees.

Exchange fees are charged for conversion, trading, or other related services. Some platforms are cheaper than others in certain regards. For example, conversions on Binance are cheaper than eToro at 0.1% per trade compared to 1% charged by the latter.

However, eToro trumps Binance when it comes to deposits as it supports free deposits while Binance charges about 1.8% for credit card payments.

Aggregate the costs of using various components of an exchange to obtain a holistic view of the cost of using that exchange, then compare it with others to find a cheap option.

Ethereum Price

Ethereum’s price is known to change rapidly and swing wide, i.e. change quickly and by a considerable amount. For traders, this is good news as it presents opportunities to profit from this volatility.

Long-term investors, on the other hand, may not be too bothered by short-term fluctuations as price historicals show an overall uptrend with pocket downtrend periods. In the long-term investment case, a simple buy and hold strategy, or one combined with a DCA, may prove effective.

Buying Ethereum in the Philippines Safely

Security is of the utmost concern when dealing with cryptocurrencies and the exchanges that sell them. The first thing you should observe is the exchange’s regulatory status. The ideal situation is when the exchange is registered in its country of operation.

However, this is not always the case. Crypto exchanges sometimes offer services to users in certain geographical regions using entities registered in a nearby jurisdiction or in a jurisdiction where regulations allow them to onboard users from other countries.

In this case, ensure the regulatory agency is transparent and enforces industry-standard security and legal practices.

Buying Ethereum in the Philippines Anonymously

Buying Ethereum anonymously is not as easy as some may assume due to widespread regulation on all major exchanges and platforms. The key to remaining anonymous is to refrain from providing personally identifiable data. Platforms do this to varying degrees.

Crypto ATMs are a way to buy crypto anonymously. They only require the money with which you buy crypto and the wallet address you want to send it to. Currently, most ATMs are limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, but more are popping up with support for more coins.

Another method is using prepaid cards to purchase cryptos on peer-to-peer markets.  You send the code to the counterparty and they send your crypto. Visa offers prepaid cards but you’ll need to ensure you won’t have to give up personal details to obtain it.

Is Buying Ethereum Legal in the Philippines?

Yes, buying Ethereum is legal in the Philippines. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) warned Filipinos of the risks associated with trading Ethereum in a statement issued back in 2014. The BSP still doesn’t recognise Ethereum as a currency as it isn’t issued by a central bank or backed by a commodity.

However, Circular 944, issued by the BSP in 2017, legalised Ethereum and other virtual currencies. Crypto exchanges in the Philippines are now regulated by the BSP as a result.

What Banks Let You Buy Ethereum in the Philippines?

If you’re worried about your payments to crypto platforms being blocked, check the information below to find out where some of the most popular Filipino banks stand on crypto.

UnionBank of the Philippines

UnionBank has labelled itself a crypto-friendly bank. It has a crypto ATM at its digital branch and is launching crypto exchange services for its users. You can use UnionBank to deposit to PDAX via bank transfer, bills payment, or online banking. It can also be used on Binance P2P (peer-to-peer).

Land Bank

Land Bank is a government-owned bank in the Philippines. It is supported as a payment option on Binance P2P and PDAX.

Asia United Bank

AUB is a universal bank that is part of the league of Philippine banks that have been publicly listed. You can use an AUB bank account to make payments on Binance P2P and PDAX.

Is Ethereum Taxable in the Philippines?

Profits made from selling Ethereum are taxable in the Philippines, according to statements issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Department of Finance (DOF). Although other types of taxes may apply as crypto taxation rules develop in the Philippines, Income Tax is currently the only tax that Ethereum users need to worry about.

Only realised gains are taxed in the Philippines. This means that if you swap Ethereum for another cryptocurrency, you will not be taxed, but if you sell it for fiat, you will. You will be exempted from Income Tax if your total income is below 250,000 PHP. People with higher incomes may need to pay a basic amount plus an additional rate of tax, depending on the size of their income.

You will need to file an income tax return even if you don’t earn enough to pay any tax. To ensure your return is accurate, make sure you keep detailed records. You should record the dates of your transactions, the amount of ETH traded, and its value in PHP.

Final Thoughts

We’ve been through a range of useful topics for new Ethereum investors, from payment methods and wallets to when and why to buy ETH. The first step to investing, however, is picking the right platform.

In conclusion, we believe the best option is eToro. It provides a safe and user-friendly trading experience, supports free deposits, and has other features to suit users of all experience levels, including the innovative CopyTrader. There is a step-by-step guide to signing up further up this page, or simply click the link below.

More Cryptocurrency Guides in Philippines

Check out more of our popular crypto guides for the Philippines below.

• How to Buy Solana in the Philippines
• How to Buy Chainlink in the Philippines
• How to Buy Cosmos in the Philippines
• How to Buy The Graph in the Philippines

Methodology - How We Picked the Best Platforms to Buy Ethereum in the Philippines

We decided on the best platforms by first testing them individually. Our criteria for assessment include fees, deposit and withdrawal methods, reputation, credibility, security, ease of use, trading features, coin selection, and competitive edge.

The platforms listed on this page are ones that we found to be the best at the features we listed them under, e.g. cheapest way to buy Ethereum. All platforms have a track record of providing value to users.

We also placed an onus on security and credibility. These platforms have millions of users and employ some of the highest security measures in the industry.

Finally, we considered fees and limits. These platforms have various fees and deposit/withdrawal limits, but they are all within reasonable limits.

To learn more about how we test and choose platforms, visit our why trust us and how we test pages.