Cointelegraph is proud to announce the launch of its highly anticipated local news publication for the Philippines, Cointelegraph.ph.

The Philippines is becoming a global focal point, not just for Bitcoin in the form of remittances, but for the greater world of FinTech and financial innovation. Cointelegraph’s latest international edition will keep both near and far readers up to date with the most exciting developments from the space, in the classic style that Cointelegraph is already known for.

“We’re extremely excited to start working closely with people right at the heart of this hotbed of innovative activity,” Cointelegraph’s Business Development Director Victoria Vaughan said about the launch of Cointelegraph.ph.

“We want to be able to really work with the community and help the news and views from this fascinating ecosystem reach the worldwide audience they both need and deserve.”

Cointelegraph.ph is being run by Filipino entrepreneur Joe Maristela, who has been closely involved with the local startup scene for the past five years. With a background in the San Francisco technology world, Maristela is currently active in several projects, including as a board member for startup accelerator Katalyst.ph.

Cointelegraph caught up with Maristela ahead of the planned launch of Cointelegraph.ph this week to get more information about his decision to move into media, his future plans and what we can expect from Cointelegraph’s latest media outlet.

Cointelegraph: As an entrepreneur, what made you go into the online media industry and not any other? How did you come up with the idea of writing about cryptocurrency?

Joe Maristela: Online media is appropriately adaptive and responsive. You can publish news in real time with online media. Further, CT specifically embraces the tech that it covers, FinTech and cryptocurrency, thoroughly — evidenced by the way the parent company in the U.S. transacts with its franchises in other markets (fittingly, in Bitcoin).

As events evolve and develop, writing and communicating the issues surrounding these events in this particular space and niche is critical. Informing the public about these events is critical.

Entering this industry is about more than business. This is about informing the public about the facts involved in this space — what the technologies discussed are, what they aren't; what precedents have been set, in terms of compliance and regulations, and so forth.

This is an important space — as fundamental to society as health treatments and medicines are. It's imperative that we move forward based on facts, and that we're all kept aware of solutions and the potential for such solutions that are being created halfway across the globe.

This is why I decided to get into this space.

CT: Gaining a wide, yet loyal following can be difficult for an online media resource. What problems have you encountered, and how did you overcome these?

JM: Everything hinges on trust. Our readers must trust that Cointelegraph will keep current, for one. Our readers must trust that, if anything happens in this space, at very least, CT Philippines will mention it, analyze it, source and disseminate the facts on the current event. Relevance is key.

Another key facet to keeping a loyal following is to remain genuine and sincere at all times, specifically when it comes to delivering thoughtful content. Though we want to remain relevant by delivering news on a regular basis (time sensitivity and relevance), we can't sacrifice the quality in information, nor the thoughtfulness of the content that we publish — just so that we can say that we've posted our quota for the day. We must never resort to "quotas" in that sense. Our readers must trust that Cointelegraph Philippines will never do that.

These two things — consideration of time, and consideration of thoughtfulness and quality — have served me well in developing a loyal following in business, in social matters, and in my own personal life. I believe that adhering to this — at least as a starting point — will guide CT Philippines well as we launch and develop our readership.

CT: What made you decide to join the Cointelegraph network rather than strike out on your own? What are the advantages of being a Cointelegraph franchisee in a major developing market like the Philippines?

JM: Cointelegraph is undoubtedly a top-tier brand in the BTC news space. I myself have been featured on CT. Startups that I've invested in have been featured on CT. It's akin to my approach to investing, wherein I test drive the products and services a number of times before I even come close to considering building out a position.



Striking out on our own would be tough. Making it past year one in the online news business requires partnerships, and CT provides a built-in network for partnerships across its franchise network, but also via its extended social network.

CT is a recognizable brand in the Philippines as it is. I intend on extending that brand recognition and further developing it in the Philippines and beyond — well into the APEC and ASEAN regions.

CT: With the Bitcoin market changing so frequently, media outlets are constantly evolving their focus. What do you intend to cover in the future, other than purely cryptocurrency?

JM: FinTech in general is a wide and vast space. On the traditional side of things, I personally — as an angel investor — see some very interesting innovations worth covering in the payment processing space, the B2B remittance space, and the microfinance space. On the edgier, non-bitcoin FinTech side of things, there are very interesting things going on in terms of basing technologies on the blockchain in order to improve transparency across a social network (e.g. Bonafide.io).