Ethan Rose’s Profile Bio of a Fin-Tech Startup Leader
Ethan Rose is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder of fin-tech startup Pouch.ph, an online payment system that uses Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. This is a revolutionary technology that helps more people have access to financial services and makes it faster and easier for Filipinos to send money across different countries.
The application also allows users to use any Bitcoin wallet to pay by scanning a QR code provided by the merchant. Manila Bulletin reported last June 5, 2023 that Pouch.ph onboarded over 400 small businesses in the Philippines.
Work Background:
Born in Seattle, Washington, Ethan Rose was first exposed to the tech industry when he worked as an IT Help Desk support. He didn’t find his job enjoyable, so he redirected his focus to other things and started learning programming. Ethan Rose went to free code camps where he learned JavaScript programming.
Now, Ethan Rose has a comprehensive background in software engineering. He previously worked as a Software Engineer at Uber, one of the top and most popular ridesharing applications in the United States, and at Aurora, a company that develops self-driving technologies.
Ethan Rose left his work as a software engineer in the United States to solve a personal problem: to improve the experience of sending and receiving money abroad for everyone.
How Ethan Rose Got Into the Philippines:
Ethan Rose’s wife is a Filipina from Cagayan De Oro (CDO) whom he met online. Ethan studied music in the United States, and his wife became a fan of the music he uploaded on YouTube. His wife then moved to the US and would return to the Philippines with him for a vacation, especially during the Christmas holidays.
Ethan Rose said he was thankful for meeting his wife and wanted to stay in the Philippines as long as he liked and worked remotely.
Discovery of Pouch.ph and Bitcoin:
Ethan Rose worked remotely in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic while developing Pouch on the side. He initially did not have plans to pursue the application until he attended a Bitcoin conference in Miami and presented the pitch about Pouch.
He met some investors interested in bringing the lightning network to the Philippines since only a few are working on Bitcoin there. He then left his job and focused on scaling the Pouch application.
Ethan Rose ignored Bitcoin for a long-time, not until the Pandemic when the economy was shut down, and he thought money had lost its value.
In an interview with Interaksyon.com, Ethan Rose emphasized the importance of a Bitcoin payment method.
“With the growing number of internet and smartphone users in the Philippines, Bitcoin as a payment method will allow those who do not have credit cards or even local fiat currency to make online or in-store purchases,” Rose said.
What is Pouch.Ph?
The pouch.ph application is the Philippines’ first lightning network payment operator. It is an easy-to-use digital wallet where users can make lightning-fast transactions such as paying bills, buying loads, bank transfers, and even sending money globally.
Pouch’s Batch Pay feature also allows business owners to send money to multiple recipients, such as employees, suppliers, and others. This includes transfers to popular banks and e-wallets, making it convenient and fast.
Pouch.ph has also enabled small businesses to accept Bitcoin as payment through QR code scanning.
Boosting Bitcoin Adoption in the Philippines:
Ethan Rose is pushing the world-famous Boracay Island to be a Bitcoin Community. Pouch. Ph has supported teaching people about Bitcoin on the island to show how useful it is for sending money across different countries.
Pouch initially managed to onboard 250 merchants, including hotels, fancy restaurants, and water sports, to accept Bitcoin as payment. He believes that having Bitcoin as a mode of payment on the island will boost its tourism, attracting Bitcoin users from around the world.
Aside from Boracay, key cities like Iloilo, Cebu, and Bacolod in Negros Occidental are now adopting Bitcoin as payment.
Watch Ethan Rose of Pouch.Ph on Startup Podcast PH:
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