BuyBitcoindotph is one such company, headed by balikbayan co-founder and CEO Sam Kaddoura, along with founders Lasse Birk Olesen (CPO), Daniel Walton (CTO), and James Florentino (UI / UX Designer). Kaddoura describes the platform as “a peso to bitcoin ‘over-the-counter’ exchange allowing Filipinos direct access to buying and selling bitcoins.”

Kaddoura continued, “As the popularity of bitcoin increases and it becomes more widely accepted as a currency, the bitcoin exchange model will play a crucial role in providing a foundation for both individuals and local businesses in the Philippines bitcoin economy to flourish.”

Of course, with a technology as exotic as Bitcoin, individuals and merchants first have to buy into the concept before they actually buy the cryptocurrency. At the moment, the current profile of the average user on BuyBitcoin.ph is what you would expect: They’re tech-savvy, cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

Kaddoura describes the individuals that trade on his exchange as having this profile. He said, “Based off information from our customer database, our average user is male, between the age of 25 to 34, mostly working in a technical field such as engineering or computer science.”

Kaddoura and his team want to aggressively move beyond these early adopters to include other demographics. Kaddoura said, “We’d like to reach out to everyone outside of this group as well! We have some plans to target new markets, such as hosting local information sessions and promoting through the blogosphere and social media.”