Bitcoin ATM Pasig and where to buy crypto in Ortigas

Reviewed by the Crypto Philippines Editorial TeamUpdated September 28, 2026 · 9 min read

Is there a Bitcoin ATM in Pasig? Not one you can use today. UnionBank ran a two-way machine for its own clients in 2019, reportedly at UnionBank Plaza in Ortigas, but it has not been confirmed working since. To buy crypto in Ortigas now, use the PDAX app, UnionBank’s in-app crypto wallet or GCash’s GCrypto, which runs on PDAX.

That list says a lot about Pasig. Most cities in Metro Manila matter for crypto because of where people spend their cash. Ortigas matters because of where the licensed infrastructure sits. Two of the nine firms on the Bangko Sentral’s VASP list keep their head offices here, both inside Ortigas Center, and one of them quietly powers the crypto tab in the country’s biggest e-wallet. What Pasig lacks is the thing most searchers expect: a place to walk in with cash.

Ortigas Center: the address behind a big share of Philippine crypto

The BSP’s VASP list dated 15 July 2026 gives these addresses. We add the one neighbour across the city line that Ortigas office workers also deal with, and the nearest cash counter, which is not actually in Pasig.

If you searched for “PDAX office Pasig” hoping to fix an account problem in person, note that neither PDAX nor UnionBank presents these buildings as crypto service counters. PDAX support runs through its help centre and app; UnionBank crypto questions go through the bank’s usual channels. For a comparison of all licensed options, see our list of the top crypto exchanges in the Philippines.

Bitcoin ATM Pasig: the UnionBank machine and the location puzzle

In February 2019 UnionBank launched what it called a virtual currency ATM. It was built by Lamassu, used Coins.ph as the back end, and worked in both directions, so you could buy or sell Bitcoin. It was not public: you needed a UnionBank account, and you confirmed each transaction with your account number and two one-time passwords. When BitPinas tested it in March 2019, ₱500 in produced ₱496 worth of Bitcoin.

Where exactly was it? Here the sources split. Philstar and Fintech News Philippines said UnionBank Plaza on Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center. CoinGeek and The Next Web said The ARK, UnionBank’s digital branch on Ayala Avenue in Makati. An archived Coin ATM Radar page from 2020 simply said “UnionBank main branch”. It may have moved, or there may have been two units. We could not confirm either version, and UnionBank has said nothing public about the machine in recent years. Our Makati guide covers the other side of that story, and the country’s first machines.

What we can say is that the bank’s crypto ambitions moved from hardware into its app. The same regulator that said in 2019 that crypto ATM operators must be registered exchanges has since frozen new VASP licences indefinitely, so a new machine in Ortigas would have to come from an existing licensee. None has announced one. For the national picture, read our Bitcoin ATM Philippines guide.

PDAX in Ortigas: how Pasig’s home exchange handles pesos

PDAX is BSP-licensed, lists about 73 cryptocurrencies, and also sells tokenised government bonds and gold. Its bigger footprint is invisible: when you buy crypto in GCash, the trade runs through PDAX. It reported 800,000 users at the end of 2022 and has not published a newer official figure that we could find.

What matters most for day-to-day use is how money gets in and out. These are the figures on the PDAX fees page, which we checked on 28 September 2026.

The lesson is clear: fund PDAX from a bank, not an e-wallet. Topping up ₱20,000 from GCash costs about ₱580; the same amount by online bank transfer costs nothing. Trading fees are less clear. Third-party reviews quote 0.40% maker and 0.50% taker, but we could not find those figures on an official PDAX page, so check the order screen before you trade. Crypto withdrawals are capped by tier: ₱0 on a Basic account, ₱1 million a day once Verified and ₱4 million on Premium. Our fees and spreads guide compares PDAX with Coins.ph line by line.

PDAX Prime: OTC trading out of Ortigas

For big tickets, PDAX runs PDAX Prime, an OTC service with a dedicated relationship manager. The minimum is ₱1 million, roughly US$20,000, for assets listed on the exchange, and ₱250,000 for assets offered only over the counter. Trades agreed between 9 am and 4 pm on weekdays settle T+1; trades between 4 pm and 9 pm settle T+2. Settlement runs through RTGS, SWIFT or PDDTS, which suits company treasuries in the Ortigas towers better than a string of ₱50,000 InstaPay transfers. For a side-by-side with Coins TradeDesk in BGC, see our crypto OTC guide and our Taguig and BGC page.

UnionBank crypto: buying inside your bank

UnionBank received its bank VASP licence in September 2023 and completed the rollout of its in-app Crypto Wallet on 13 August 2025. You do not need to visit UnionBank Plaza: everything happens in UnionBank Online. Before you can buy, the bank runs a client suitability assessment, and if you fail it you can reapply after six months. Bitcoin is confirmed; the full coin list is not published in a form we could verify. The bank says there are “no added fees”, which in practice means the cost sits in the price. Details are on UnionBank’s website.

Kapitolyo, Capitol Commons and the Ortigas night shift

Pasig’s crypto users split into two broad groups. The first are residents of Kapitolyo, Capitol Commons, the Ortigas condo towers and the villages further east: salaried, banked and usually on GCash already. For them, the simplest first purchase is inside the e-wallet they use for food deliveries. GCrypto runs on PDAX, so you are using Pasig’s own licensed exchange without opening a new account. Our GCash crypto guide covers limits and spreads.

The second group works the night shift in Ortigas BPO offices. Many earn in pesos but save in USDT, or hold small amounts of Bitcoin bought during breaks. The practical point for you is timing. InstaPay runs 24/7, so a PDAX or Coins.ph deposit at 3 am works. PESONet settles in batches on banking days only, and PDAX Prime has office hours. Plan big moves for the day shift. And be wary of colleagues or group chats offering P2P deals on flagged exchanges; our crypto scams guide explains how money-mule schemes work and why a borrowed account can get you in legal trouble.

Paying cash near Ortigas: the nearest counters

If you hold physical pesos and want crypto, Pasig is the least convenient city on this page. The Moneybees outlets page lists no counter inside Pasig. The “Ortigas” outlet is Tambunting Junction at Star Valley Plaza Mall in Cainta, open weekdays until 5 pm. Beyond that, the closest licensed counters are at Market! Market! in BGC or the Guadalupe branch in Makati, or in Quezon City, which has the most counters of any city; see our Quezon City guide.

The indirect route is usually easier. Cash in to Coins.ph for ₱25 at a Cebuana Lhuillier, M Lhuillier or Villarica branch, or load GCash at any partner store; the first ₱8,000 a month is reportedly free and 2% after that. Then buy in the app. Our guide to buying crypto with cash has all the limits.

For card buyers, CEX.IO is the global alternative. It has operated since 2013, is registered with FinCEN in the US and the Bank of Spain, accepts Visa and Mastercard from Filipino users and lists more than 300 coins. It is not a BSP-licensed VASP and has no peso, GCash or InstaPay rails, so you would still cash out through PDAX, Coins.ph or GCash.