The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) has welcomed strong demand for its cryptocurrency licenses, particularly from international operators in a way that has “surpassed all our expectations,” according to the group’s administrator.

CEZA, which operates the Philippine government-owned Cagayan Special Economic Zone (CSEZ), expects to receive as much as $68 million in licensing revenue, with 17 firms already having paid in full to be licensed to operate cryptocurrency businesses there. According to CEZA, a further 19 firms have expressed interest in securing a Financial Technology Solutions and Offshore Virtual Currency (Ftsovc) license.

The license allow companies “to establish a financial tech, crypto, and blockchain office” within the CEZA area, and provides a certain legal structure for regulation and oversight.

CEZA administrator and CEO Raul Lambino said the robust interest had overshot their forecasts, with as many as 19 firms in the ‘pipeline’ to secure licenses to operate there.

“[Seventeen] fintech and offshore virtual currency firms have already paid in full the application and license fees for the digital coin trading under CEZA…19 companies are in the pipeline to pay their application and license fees to CEZA,” Lambino said, according to the Philippine News Agency.

Featured image from CoinGeek é