Enjin Ecosystem Lawyer Finalist for “Young Lawyer of the Year”

Nadaine Tongco-Edades, CPA, esq. is a finalist for “In-House Lawyer of the Year”, “Young Lawyer of the Year” and “Woman Lawyer of the Year” in the Asia Legal Business Philippine Law Awards 2023, a leading mainstream legal award and not specific to blockchain or tech. The Enjin ecosystem legal team is also a finalist for “Philippine In-House Team of the Year,” “Technology, Media and Telecommunications In-House Team of the Year,” and “Innovative In-House Team of the Year.” They are the only blockchain team among the finalists, alongside top fintech team UnionBank of the Philippines and teams from the country’s largest conglomerates and law firms. The awarding will take place on the 30th of November at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Manila.

Nadaine works as VP-Finance & Tax, Controller and Associate General Counsel of Atlas Development Services, a core contributor to Enjin Blockchain. She is also the youngest tax professor in the University of the Philippines College of Law, and the only tax academic in Asia with direct experience leading a major blockchain company, working in a leading corporate law firm, and working as an auditor in a “Big 4” accounting firm. She is one of the most senior blockchain legal, blockchain tax/accounting, and female blockchain leaders in Asia. She placed sixth in the 2018 Philippine national bar examinations, the most difficult professional exam in a country of over 100 million people.

Nadaine led commercial, legal, tax/finance and technical integration aspects of recent ecosystem milestones such as the Enjin Blockchain launch and migration and the Efinity Polkadot crowdloan. She is one of the pioneers of integrating Bitwave blockchain accounting and tracking software in Asia, as well as other expense management, corporate treasury, and human resource tracking platforms. She is both a lawyer and certified public accountant, making her invaluable to the ecosystem given blockchain tax and accounting issues are grounded on underlying novel legal issues. She and the team work directly with blockchain developers and marketers, use UX design and project management software, and lead both legal and commercial negotiations.

As a blockchain company leader and tax academic from the Philippines, Nadaine is committed to harnessing blockchain and fintech to enhance remittances and payments, financial inclusion and content creator empowerment. The Philippines is the world’s most important market for non-fungible token (NFT) gaming adoption and one of the world’s largest remittance markets given its overseas worker population. Nadaine is also committed to developing more female blockchain leaders and leaders from emerging markets.

General Counsel Isabel Guidote-Pangalangan won “Young Lawyer of the Year” and “Fintech Lawyer of the Year” in Asia Legal Business Philippine Law Awards 2022, and was a finalist in other categories. Separately, the team under Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer Oscar Franklin Tan was added to the Legal 500 GC Powerlist in October 2023. This is the world’s most prestigious recognition for company lawyers and includes teams from tech giants such as Microsoft and Google and Southeast Asian tech unicorns such as Grab and GoTo.