Satoshi Citadel wants to be the ecosystem for Bitcoin in the Philippines

Bitcoin and Fintech companies were well represented at the Rise Conference in Hong Kong Friday, and Satoshi Citadel Industries, one company attending the conference, offers a combination of both.

Putting aside the cool name (Bitcoin fans will understand the reference,)  the company is attempting to building the ecosystem for Bitcoin in the Philippines, by seeking to streamline financial services by delivering Bitcoin solutions to Filipinos that reduce the costs of using and transferring money.

Satoshi Citadel has as its aim to realize the full potential of Bitcoin technology by changing the way Filipino’s think about money and value, engineering the future of finance in the country.

“We like to think of ourselves as the last mile in Bitcoin service delivery” Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer Miguel Cuneta explained to SiliconANGLE.

“10 percent of Filipino’s work overseas, with many of them sending money home to family and loved ones. We offer a cheap and convenient way to have those funds remitted by those on the receiving end.”

Satoshi Citadel currently offers two products: Rebit.ph, a remittance service for the Philippines that charges zero service fees or hidden fees, with the ability of “Rebitters” being able to choose to pay out in cash within 24 hours via major banks and local pawnshop networks, or in kind via mobile airtime load and bills payment; and BuyBitcoin.ph, which as the name may suggest is a fiat money to Bitcoin exchange catering for a Filipino audience.

A third service currently in development is called Bitbit, an e-wallet that will allow users to send, receive and share money with friends and family over email, mobile and social media, but unlike other Bitcoin wallets, Bitbit keeps the funds in Pesos (the currency of the Philippines) freeing it from the Bitcoin’s price volatility, with the amount transferred to Bitcoin only at the point of transfer.

Market potential

As we covered when Coins.ph released their Teller service 2 weeks ago, the Philippines’ market is ripe with potential for Bitcoin related services as a large number of people within the country simply don’t have access to banking services.

Those limitations are not limited to individuals either, and while Satoshi Citadel is offering services to individuals, they are also facilitating B2B and B2C transactions as well, broad spectrum Bitcoin related offerings that can cater for all different shapes and sizes of people and businesses.

Based in Makati, Philippines, Satoshi Citadel has raised $100,000 to-date in a seed round from an undisclosed investor in May 2015.