JAKARTA – Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) of the Ministry of Trading would form a cryptocurrency exchange in the second half of 2021. Jerry Sambuaga, the Vice of Ministry of Trading, expressed the intention in the press conference, quoted Monday (17/5).
According to Sambuaga, Indonesia is one of the countries that already have a regulation regarding crypto-assets trading, which would protect any involving parties. Furthermore, the said regulation helps to legalise digital assets within the country. “Indonesia has set strict rules in supervising financial activities and services. It is to prevent terrorism funding and alleged money laundering,” he added.
It is also mentioned that cryptocurrency trading is currently thriving. Cryptocurrency transaction has reached IDR 1.7 trillion per day, or 10% of transaction values in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Youngsters, particularly, perceives this cryptocurrency trading as a promising business in the future.
In Indonesia, the crypto assets are treated less like currency and more like tradable assets or commodities. This rule follows Bank Indonesia Regulations, which states the only legal currency is the rupiah.
The government is currently regulating the kinds of crypto assets to be tradable in Indonesia. The list that Bappebti specifies currently contains 229 variations of tradable crypto-assets. (LK/ZH)