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TMM x Bitskwela TownHall Event Highlights
Jiro Reyes (CEO) and JC Macalintal (CMO) of Bitskwela were the first people to be our guests at the Weekly TMM Townhall Event last January 14.
The two leaders talked about how they got into Web3 and what piqued their interest enough to stay and commit to building Bitskwela.
Let’s dig deeper into their stories as we go along with this article!
Part I: Getting To Know The Guests
At this part of the event, both guests were asked about their backgrounds and how they got into Web3.
Surprisingly, both of them were on very different career paths before they switched into this industry.
Their stories are living proof that everyone can make a career in Web3 as long as they are passionate and willing to learn.
Let’s get started by recapping some of the questions they were asked during the event.
What’s your educational or professional background outside of or before Web3?
Jiro revealed that his original background and college course are not related to Web3. He revealed that he was a fine arts student before he decided to make Web3 his full-time career way back in 2020.
“It just goes to show that academics aren’t everything, and you’re not defined by what books you read in college or anything else in life as long as you keep going after what you want,” Jiro said.
JC, on the other hand, started a bit earlier on Web3 than Jiro. Before he started his career in this industry last 2018, he was already doing marketing and freelance work on Web2.
“I’ve been a marketer since 2014. Then, in 2016, I started building communities. And I discovered at the time that what I do as a marketer in Web2 can also be applied in Web3, so why not try it on Web3?,” JC added.
What made you realize or commit to contributing and building in this space?
Jiro said that what made him commit to building Bitskwela was the overall problem of our country when it comes to financial literacy. He believed that the lack of financial education among Filipinos has ripple effects on our individual and collective lives.
These effects include poverty, which is a major problem in our country. He said that the same problem can now be seen in Web3 as well.
He says that Web3 will have the same long-term effects if people don’t get the right education about it. Without the proper knowledge about Web3, people can easily fall into scams.
“That’s when I had the realization that I wanted to solve this problem and bridge the gap between Web3 education and Filipinos.” Jiro explained.
Moreover, he added that the Philippines is so much more capable of Web3 adoption than we think it is.
The Philippines has been named the social media capital of the world. We have the highest activity on most of the social media platforms on the internet.
According to him, that is a clear indication that we have the direction and power to convert and lead the Web3 adoption.
“I want the Philippines to be the first and leading country in the Web3 revolution. It’s time for us to be the first, since we know that we are capable of that,” he added
JC expressed his agreement with Jiro’s answer to this question. He said that if we are able to convert the Philippines into the blockchain capital of the world, we will be able to solve the contemporary problems that we face as a country.
Part II: Getting To Know More About Bitskwela
Bitskwela is a Filipino-led edutech platform that aims to make Web3 education accessible to all Filipinos of any ethnicity.
Let’s learn more about Bitskwela’s history with the words of its founder and CMO themselves:
The History Behind The Company Name Of Bitskwela
According to Jiro, Bitskwela derives from the words “Bitcoin” and “Eskwelahan,” or school in English. When put together, the two words mean “Bitcoin School.”
That is because, as Jiro stated, he is a true believer of Bitcoin. Therefore, initially, Bitskwela’s focus was mainly on providing education about Bitcoin, hence its name.
But as the company grew, they realized that it would be better to expand their platform to other cryptocurrencies as well.
What makes Bitskwela stand out from other edutech platforms in the market?
One thing that makes Bitskwela unique is that it’s an inclusive, multilingual platform for all Filipinos. Right now, they have resources written in English, Tagalog, and Cebuano.
“What really makes Bitskwela stand out is our focus on local history. We really put a big focus on bringing education to the grass-roots level. Now, one way we do this is through our multilingual education on our website,” Jiro answered.
According to Jiro, they will have resources written in Kapampangan soon, and they are working on other Filipino dialects too. This made them different from other learning platforms because, frankly, almost every Web3 course out there is only written in English.
Besides that, Bitskwela also supports different learning styles by having both text and videos on their courses, which makes it easier for Filipinos to learn about Web3.
What do you think is the biggest achievement of Bitskwela so far?
“I will say that our biggest achievement so far is achieving what we have now in a very short period of time and with zero to very little capital. Since the beginning of Bitskwela, everything we’ve done has been 95% organic,” Jiro answered.
“For me, I guess what I’m most proud of is that Bitskwela doesn’t spend a cent on PR. It’s these publications and media companies that come to us to tell our story. It is metric enough to say that we’re really impacting lives and changing the space because if we can get the attention of these media companies, such as CNN, to share our mission, then we must be doing something right,” JC added.
The Future Of Bitskwela
Both Jiro and JC are enthusiastic about the future of Bitskwela, but they say they can’t reveal much right now. However, they gave us a few hints.
Jiro said that we can expect Bitskwela to expand more into other regions of the country and internationally through their new advisor, which they will announce soon. He added that this advisor is a respected blockchain developer and business developer in the UAE.
“Looking at everything, 2023 is going to be a very, very packed year,” he added.
Besides that, JC added that we can expect more educational materials from Bitskwela this year and more online and offline events.
Part III: Opinions On Controversial Topics
In this part of the event, guests were asked about their opinions on different controversial topics in the space. Here are some of the questions that stand out:
Do you think P2E games are dead? Why or why not?
Both guests share the same sentiment regarding this issue. For Jiro, P2E games are not dead in the sense that they can always be revived. JC, on the other hand, said that P2E games are hibernating because of the bear market.
Moreover, they both believe that it’s too early to draw any conclusions about P2E games. However, they said that they are seeing a major shift in P2E games, where people are now starting to prioritize the enjoyment of the game rather than the tokens they can earn with it.
Are you Pro-CBDC or Anti-CBDC?
Jiro and JC share the same opinion about CBDC. They are both against it because, as they say, it defeats the purpose of decentralization.
However, they did mention that it may be inevitable because the government will eventually try to regulate crypto and Web3 in some way.
TMM x Bitskwela TownHall Conclusion
That concludes all the highlights for our TMM x Bitskwela TownHall. I hope you learned a lot from our guests and will continue to support both Bitskwela and The Mega Maxi.
If you miss this TownHall session, don’t worry. We still have a lot of events lined up with other key leaders in the space.
Join our Discord so you won’t miss it!