The appointment forms part of Coins.ph’s wider strategy to scale its operations beyond the Philippines and strengthen its position in emerging digital finance markets. In her new role, Alawi will oversee global brand strategy, partnerships, and user acquisition across international markets.

She will also lead marketing efforts for Coins.xyz, the company’s upcoming global platform for cross-border payments, decentralised finance (DeFi) access, and Web3 onboarding tools designed for emerging economies.

“Coins.ph has earned the trust of millions across the Philippines—and now we have the opportunity to bring that trust and access to the world,” said Alawi. “Our goal is to empower small businesses, creators, and everyday users to participate fully in the digital economy. This is about building pathways for financial inclusion at a global scale.”

Alawi said she views the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region as the foundation for the company’s international expansion strategy.

“APAC isn’t just a region—it’s proof that blockchain can go mainstream,” Alawi said. “This is where fintech and culture meet, where innovation grows alongside trust and clear regulation. Coins.ph was built here where practicality, transparency, and community matter most. That balance between creativity and compliance is what makes real adoption possible. Now we’re taking that same energy global, delivering secure, compliant tools to drive mass adoption for the digital economy.”

Additionally, Coins.ph said its marketing team will focus on four key priorities through 2025. These include developing global brand campaigns centred on transparency, education, and accessibility, and forming strategic partnerships with fintech and DeFi innovators across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

The company also plans to introduce creator-led programmes to promote Web3 literacy through localised storytelling, alongside strengthening its security and compliance frameworks to maintain user trust as it continues to scale internationally.

According to Coins.ph, its choice of initial markets represents a targeted approach to expansion, with Thailand viewed as a high-growth digital economy with increasing cryptocurrency adoption, while Australia and Brazil are identified as key remittance corridors for the Filipino diaspora. The company also pointed to Mauritius as a regulatory and financial innovation hub that can serve as a gateway to Africa and the Middle East.

In addition, Coins.ph said it is exploring partnerships and localised solutions in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, which it described as an emerging area for blockchain adoption and remittance innovation.

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This announcement comes after Coins.ph’s Australian arm successfully acquired an ‘AUSTRAC’ (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) Digital Currency Exchange registration required for providing cryptocurrency exchange services in Australia.

Furthermore, this strategic action emphasises the homegrown company’s commitment to broadening its reach internationally and bolstering the availability of regulated and compliant digital asset services.

This expansion also marks a significant milestone in the company’s global journey, as the service will be catering to the growing Australian crypto market, as well as to Filipinos who are overseas in Australia, who can now look forward to a more connected financial experience that bridges their lives down under with their roots in the Philippines.

Talking about these expansion plans, Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, commented, “Coins.ph is primed for global expansion. Our journey began nearly a decade ago in the Philippines and since then, we’ve onboarded 18 million customers and expanded our services in both the digital asset exchange business and in e-wallet services.”

“Our team has top-tier talents with global experience in this industry. We’re thrilled to bring these capabilities to new markets.” he added.

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Specifically, she will be prioritizing on educating users on how they can participate in the web3 ecosystem and the opportunities it creates, in a safe and secure manner. 

“For web3 and crypto natives, we’ve got a lot of product launches in store to serve their rapidly evolving needs and cater to the various segments of the market spanning crypto traders, Web3 gamers, businesses, institutions, NFT collectors and more. So we want to do these justice by spreading awareness and making these accessible through education, promotions and community engagement,” Gonzalez told MARKETECH APAC. 

Prior to her appointment, Gonzalez held key roles in indie Web3 game studios as the chief operating officer of Serriva Labs and the former head of operations of YGG Pilipinas for more than a year.

“With YGG, I was constantly exposed to the community of web3 gamers we served. Web3 gaming made a substantial impact on people’s lives in terms of access to earning opportunities, and their trust in YGG to help navigate this new world and provide education on cryptocurrency and financial management was top of mind. Hearing their experiences, successes, and passion to give back to help others too was an inspiration. I believe I learned more from them than they learned from me and I’m truly grateful for that,” stated Gonzalez when asked about her prior experience in the Web3 industry. 

She also possesses a wide array of marketing leadership experience in banking and fintech firms, being the former chief marketing officer as well as the marketing and communications head of UnionDigital Bank and UnionBank respectively.  

“At UnionBank, heading the marketing and communications team of the fintech group, this is where I saw a traditional bank evolve into one that was not only willing to innovate but also keen to work with what was then considered competitors – the fintechs. By enabling fintechs and collaborating with them to create solutions for customers, we were able to do more, for more people. At UnionDigital, I was part of the founding team that started the digital bank and learned how to build from scratch with the customer in mind – the underbanked and underserved,” she mentioned when asked about her previous roles in the field of banking.   

Speaking on her own appointment, Gonzalez said, “Through all these roles, I’ve been lucky to work in organizations that pushed the boundaries of innovation to provide people with opportunities to uplift their lives –  from web3 gaming to financial services. This is why I decided to join Coins.ph as we want to do the same thing in the digital asset space. I’ve learned through my prior roles, that it’s by keeping this mission in mind, day in and day out, that allows us to go beyond to serve the customer.”

When asked about the challenges and opportunities that the fintech industry will face for this year, she pointed out the emergence of fintech alternatives as something that could both be a challenge and an opportunity.

“For quite some time now, fintechs have been challengers to traditional financial services offered by banks and institutions. What we’re seeing emerge is that there are alternatives to fintechs coming from the web3 and digital asset space – from lending, savings and ways to earn – it will be interesting to see how fintechs either compete or collaborate with builders in web3. This is both a challenge and opportunity for fintechs,” she answered. 

Gonzalez joins Coins.ph following its cryptocurrency partnerships with UnionBank, Globe, and the Philippine BasketBall Association. 

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Through PBA’s first crypto partnership, Coins.ph will have brand presence featured throughout the Philippine Cup, the PBA’s premier tournament, where it will offer interactive experiences to engage fans and promote awareness of all things crypto. In addition, Coins.ph will make use of the interactive games on selected matches to allow fans to win free crypto, as well as being featured on television ads throughout the season.

Both companies aim to provide economic benefits and promote professional growth opportunities to basketball fans through crypto education and engagement. Coins.ph will use its brand presence to increase public awareness of crypto and explain concepts such as blockchain, NFTs, and Web3 to basketball fans across the nation.

“The PBA is an ideal platform for these educational efforts, with some prominent players already involved in the crypto space. This partnership will extend that empowerment to fans as well,” Coins.ph said in a press statement.

Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, said, “Basketball plays a very important part in the Filipino culture and that makes it a perfect match for Coins.ph, a proudly home-grown fintech brand in the Philippines. We are very excited to be the exclusive crypto partner of the PBA and look forward to bringing together exciting basketball games with the latest crypto trends.” 

He added, “We have seen a surge in engagement with Web3 in the Philippines and we believe that more and more Filipinos are joining the crypto community. The PBA is a great platform to educate Filipinos on the crypto-economy and we value this opportunity to expand crypto market adoption.”

Meanwhile, Willie O. Marcial, the PBA Commissioner, commented, “The PBA is the 1st professional basketball league in Asia and is already an institution in the country. It is still unparalleled when it comes to professional sports entertainment. And partnering with Coins.ph will surely take the PBA a step further as it continues to improve and strengthen its position as one of the best leagues in the region.” 

He added, “Further, the PBA is all about growth and improvement. Having Coins.ph will give fans the opportunity to engage in a new way and at the same time learn about the crypto community. We are thankful to Coins.ph for choosing us to be their partner, I am sure they will introduce new venues for fun and exciting activities.”

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In addition, the additional funding will support the company by reinforcing the platform’s crypto-native credentials and adding new products and services. Current growth plans include adding more cryptocurrency tokens, upgrading and relaunching the Coins.Pro exchange, offering additional crypto-focused merchant and payment services, supporting GameFi and guild management products, and entering new geographies.

For Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, the new funding is a significant milestone for the platform, and will allow them to accelerate and scale faster, bringing them one step closer to achieving their vision of being the go-to platform for all crypto, Web3, and P2E gaming in Southeast Asia.

He also added that as the Philippines continues to witness the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, there is a real need for a secure, regulated, and user-friendly product in the market. Zhou also noted that they are solving that problem by delivering crypto and payment services that allow their customers to access, invest, trade, and spend their crypto assets seamlessly as a part of their daily lifestyles.

“We enable our users, even those without bank accounts, to easily access a wide range of financial services directly from their mobile phones. Our mission is to increase financial inclusion across Southeast Asia’s largely unbanked population of 650 million through our highly trusted brand and long track record of operating in full compliance with regulations. We see a massive opportunity to capture new users as engagement with Web3 surges in the Philippines and beyond. We will continue to build upon our leading market share and acquire new customers with a product that connects digital-first users with real-world goods and services,” he stated.

Coins.ph had been previously bought out by Zhou, who previously served as the chief financial officer at Binance, alongside Joffre Capital. Through the buyout, Zhou has been appointed as Coins.ph’s new CEO, as well as serving as CEO of the platform’s holding company that also operates Thailand’s blockchain-enabled platform, Coins.co.th.

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