The Philippines government just teamed up with Malaysia’s Zetrix AI to build its new public blockchain. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Zetrix Philippines Inc., My Blockchain Infrastructure Sdn Bhd, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology to use the Zetrix Layer-1 protocol for the country’s infrastructure.
This makes the Philippines the second country to go with Zetrix for its national blockchain, right after Malaysia did the same move back in April 2025.
A second sovereign blockchain for Zetrix
The Philippines will now become the second country to adopt the protocol. Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines (“DICT Philippines”) Secretary Henry R. Aguda said the initiative aims “to make trust portable across systems and borders,” enabling more secure and efficient verification of government-issued credentials.
The initial focus will be on digital identity, government credentials, and trade applications. Zetrix AI group managing director TS Wong called the milestone part of the company’s vision for an integrated Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) blockchain ecosystem.
The AI agent imperative
The push comes as governments recognize blockchain’s role in the agentic AI economy, where autonomous software needs verifiable credentials and transparent transaction rails.
Now, Zetrix sets itself as a global leader in sovereign digital IDs, operating as the international supernode for China’s Xinghuo Blockchain Infrastructure. Zetrix AI has been operating in the Philippines for nearly a decade, serving agencies including the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The agreement sets up a basic framework for working together, with the specific financial and technical details to be figured out later.
Connecting Southeast Asia through blockchain
The deal with the Philippines is more than a one-off project. It’s actually the main piece of a much bigger plan by Zetrix AI to link up the whole region with a shared blockchain system. Instead of just signing individual contracts, these jurisdictions are focused on making sure the entire digital neighborhood can talk to each other easily.
The Malaysia-Philippines linkage is the linchpin. By connecting the national digital ID systems of both countries and establishing a common Zetrix protocol for both national blockchains, Zetrix is laying the groundwork for interoperable cross-border digital services. It’s like building a standard road system; the more countries that join in, the more useful it becomes for everyone when it comes to trade and verifying who’s who.
Since Zetrix also handles the international side of China’s Xinghuo blockchain, the firm is now right at the center of the digital networks for three different nations.
For the Web3 audience, this represents a pragmatic, institution-first adoption path. Instead of waiting for retail decentralized finance (DeFi) or Non-Fungible Token (NFT) hype, Zetrix is embedding blockchain into the core infrastructure of sovereign states.
If this takes off, Zetrix could easily become the go-to standard for identity checks and cross-border verification across ASEAN. It’s moving beyond all that typical crypto speculation to create a rock-solid, government-backed network that actually serves a real purpose.
