Malaysia’s Zetrix AI to Support the Philippines’ Public Blockchain under DICT Pact

Malaysia’s Zetrix AI Berhad said its Layer-1 blockchain platform will be used as the underlying protocol for a planned public blockchain infrastructure in the Philippines, under a memorandum of understanding with the country’s Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The MoU was signed by Zetrix Philippines Inc., My Blockchain Infrastructure Sdn Bhd and DICT Philippines, the company said in a statement. My Blockchain Infrastructure is a joint venture between Zetrix AI and MIMOS Berhad, Malaysia’s national research and development agency.

The agreement seeks to establish a framework for implementing and operating a public blockchain infrastructure in the Philippines based on the Zetrix protocol. Financial terms, procurement details and a firm deployment timeline were not disclosed.

That makes the pact an early-stage government technology collaboration rather than a completed national rollout. However, it marks a further step in Zetrix AI’s efforts to position its blockchain infrastructure for public-sector use across Southeast Asia.

Zetrix already serves as the foundational chain for Malaysia Blockchain Infrastructure, or MBI, which was launched in April 2025, according to the company. A Philippine deployment would give the platform a role in a second ASEAN government-backed blockchain initiative.

The partners said initial areas of work may include digital credentials issued by the Philippine government, verification and authentication of official documents, trade facilitation and possible interoperability between Malaysian and Philippine digital IDs.

For governments, the argument for blockchain has moved beyond cryptocurrency into digital trust infrastructure. Public agencies issue identity records, certificates, licences, permits and trade documents. As those records move online, governments need systems that can verify authenticity across agencies, platforms and borders.

Henry R. Aguda, secretary of DICT Philippines, said the initiative was about making “trust portable across systems and borders”. The collaboration, he said, could make verification of government-issued credentials more secure and efficient while reducing friction for citizens accessing services.

Zetrix AI said the Philippines is already one of its operating markets. The group, formerly MY E.G. Services Berhad, said it has worked in the country for close to a decade as a digital government services provider, with partners including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Philippine Ports Authority and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

The Zetrix blockchain was launched in April 2022 and has been used in several areas, including digital ID verification, customs clearance processing, voting applications and stablecoin-related services, according to the company.

Its cross-border reach stems from its role as an international supernode connected to Xinghuo Blockchain Infrastructure and Facility, China’s national blockchain network. This link is designed to let identity and trade credentials verified on one chain be recognised on the other, without duplicating the verification process in each country. That has helped the company market itself as a cross-border blockchain gateway for government and enterprise use cases.

“This milestone marks another important step forward in the realisation of our vision of bringing countries in the region onto a common integrated ecosystem,” said TS Wong, group managing director of Zetrix AI.

The test now is execution. Across Southeast Asia, governments are trying to digitise public services while keeping identity, customs, payments and credential systems interoperable. Zetrix’s Philippines pact suggests blockchain infrastructure is becoming part of that conversation. Whether it becomes a working national layer will depend on how quickly the MoU moves from framework to deployment.