MY WAIT IS OVER
Finally, after almost two years of waiting I now have access to the service that made me install this e-wallet, GCash, on my mobile phone! This service or feature I'm referring to is GCrypto, the highly-anticipated crypto trading mini-app within GCash.
GCrypto's app icon first appeared in our GCash wallet's selection of services about nine months ago, and clicking on it showed a small dialog window telling us that it was coming soon. Fast forward to mid-February and some users reported that their GCrypto was already activated. I was not among the lucky few.
Then we were informed that the app was still in beta and only available to a select few, but would eventually become available to all verified users of the app. That caused some consternation from long-time GCash users who had been waiting for it for as long as I have. Many wondered out loud at why they weren't given access to it and also what they could do to get it.
Since I wasn't dependent on it anyway for off-ramping to fiat, I just waited patiently for my turn to be included in the next batch of "beta testers", checking the app every night to see if I was lucky enough to be granted that status.
My luck came around noon on the 15th of March, and this blog is about my initial experiences using GCrypto. But this isn't a tutorial on how to use as it's a no-brainer to figure out. Here are some screenshots and a video of my initial experiences with it.
WHAT IS GCASH?
Now, before we proceed, here's a little FYI for those who are from other parts of the world. GCash is a popular e-wallet here in the Philippines, and also the one with the most number of users in the whole country.
It allows you to make all kinds of everyday transactions, from paying bills, paying for online purchases, and even depositing money into your connected bank accounts. You can even open a bank account with any of its partner banks, through the app itself. And now you can also buy, sell, send, and receive crypto with it.
GCash is also available to Filipinos abroad, even if they're using a foreign SIM. KYC is required and any Philippine-issued valid ID is accepted. It is also available to foreign residents of the Philippines. KYC is done with their ACR (Alien Certificate of Registration) I-CARD.
GETTING STARTED
The GCrypto mini-app can be found in the Enjoy section. Upon launching it you're shown a welcome page, and pressing the button at the bottom of the screen will present you a short registration form to fill up before you're granted access to the rest of the app. That done, you're taken to the landing page where you can top up your wallet or choose the assets which you'd like to buy or sell.
ASSETS OFFERED
The app rolled out with an initial support for 22 coins and tokens for trading, with more to be added in the future. As you can see in the images above, their offerings are the most popular assets in crypto right now. Two weeks ago they added XRP to their list of supported cryptocurrencies.
And who knows, maybe they'll add Hive and HBD to it someday. DBuzz co-founder Nathan Senn, a.k.a. @nathansenn, and Mark Nunez, GCash's Head of Partnerships for Crypto and Web3, met last month in a Web3 event here in the Philippines. So, let's keep our fingers crossed on this one and hope their meeting bears fruit.
WALLET ADDRESSES
Clicking on an asset will take you to its trading page where you can receive or send coins or tokens to and from an external wallet like Metamask or whatever wallet you use.
TESTING
SENDING FUNDS FROM AN EXTERNAL WALLET
After finding out that I can send funds to it, and not just buy and trade them, I sent a small amount (0.01) of MATIC from Metamask to determine which blockchain GCrypto is using. As you know, MATIC is an ERC-20 token available on both Ethereum and Polygon. And I prefer using MATIC on Polygon instead of Ethereum for obvious reasons.
Immediately after sending some Polygon MATIC I received an email notification that GCrypto received the MATIC I had sent to it. My balance updated a few seconds later. With my curiosity satisfied, I sent a larger amount (8.3 MATIC) later in the evening.
SELLING YOUR ASSETS
Now that I had some MATIC in it I decided to try selling it. I waited for a minute or so for the price to be right, and got Php 524.33 for 8.31 MATIC at an exchange rate of 63.09 Php.
WITHDRAWING YOUR FUNDS
After receiving your money you can choose to keep it in your trading wallet or withdraw it to GCash for spending. Since I am not going to be using this for trading, it will be solely for off-ramping to fiat.
NOTIFICATIONS AND TRANSACTION HISTORY
You will get email notifications and SMS, as well as a detailed list of your transactions. This is good for those who need the info for record-keeping.
DEMO VIDEO
And for those whose GCrypto isn't activated yet, I made a screen recording of my second time to sell some MATIC. This demo will show you how easy it is to use. Just don't mind some of the cursor movement. The original video had a recording of my voice, as I explained things for my friends, who refused to believe that my GCrypto was already activated. GCrypto is located in the Enjoy section of GCash services. Click on it and see if yours has been activated already.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After using it the first couple of times, I'll say it's not bad for something that I had waited for for two years. It was easy to set up and use, albeit being buggy at times. But all my transactions completed without a hitch.
I'm no trader and I don't do that "buy low, sell high" thing yet. And if that's what you want to do with this app, I suggest you go trade elsewhere for now.
GCrypto doesn't have its own exchange. Instead, it is powered by PDAX (Philippine Digital Asset Exchange), a leading local cryptocurrency exchange, supervised by the Central Bank of the Philippines.
For that reason, GCrypto’s service and platform fees include the fees for buy/sell orders through PDAX. So, you're paying fees to both GCash and PDAX for your trades.
That said, my use of this will be solely for off-ramping to pesos, and only for small amounts, like 200 to 300 USD per month. For bigger amounts I will use OKX exchange instead.
And that wraps up this blog. If you liked what I've shared and found it helpful in some way, let me know what you think about it, esp. if you're a GCash user too whose GCrypto has just been activated.
Don't forget to like this post and share it with other Filipinos too.