PODCAST: Leaving trad-fi for crypto | Eli Tan of Philippines-based exchange Coins.ph

Key Takeaways

Eli Tan left 7 years at Goldman Sachs for crypto, where he worked at Binance before his current post at Philippines-based exchange Coins.ph
He joins host Dan Ashmore on the podcast to discuss the move, and how attitudes have changed towards his decision throughout the pandemic and in the current bear market
The duo also discuss crypto in the Philippines, a market famous for embracing the nascent world of blockchain

The world of crypto remains a wild west landscape. Certainly compared to traditional finance, with buttoned-up suits, stringent regulations and decades of history, crypto is a total renegade.

This was reinforced on the podcast this week. I interviewed Elijah Tan, who took a leap faith in leaving his Goldman Sachs job for the world of blockchain.

After a sting at Binance, today he is the Vice President of Operations at the Philippines-based exchange Coins.ph.

It was an interesting conversation with someone who talked amusingly of how it was “frowned upon” to jump across to crypto at the time – this being before crypto broke onto the mainstream during the COVID pandemic.

Of course, it has been a rollercoaster ride in crypto since the pre-pandemic days. Eli talks about how this has been, and how the current bear market is affecting Coins and other exchanges.

We also discussed the different regulatory environment in the Philippines. Obviously, the developments recently in the US have had seismic implications for both exchanges and the space at large. FTX’s spectacular implosion in November showed how wild crypto can be, and the recent shutdown of BinanceUSD is the latest signal that lawmakers are clamping down upon the space.

Elsewhere, the Philippines were well known for embracing the play-to-earn (P2E) model, as blockchain gaming exploded in 2021 especially. But P2E has seen numbers fall off a cliff, so I picked Eli’s mind on how this has affected Coins and the overall attitude to crypto within the country.

The bear market popped up too, and it was fascinating to hear Eli talk of how attitudes have changed through the pandemic, and subsequent bear market, towards his rebellious move to leave the comfy confines of trad-fi for crypto.

If you’re thinking of making the move across to crypto, Eli’s thoughts may be of interest!