Indonesia to start crypto exchange ahead of regulatory shift

INDONESIA plans to set up a crypto exchange this year before it shifts regulatory powers over such assets to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), from a commodities agency.

Crypto assets in Indonesia are currently traded alongside commodity contracts under the supervision of the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, known as Bappebti. As part of a broader financial sector reform, the FSA will assume regulatory power over the assets over the next two years, by which time the exchange should be set up, said Bappebti acting head Didid Noordiatmoko on Wednesday (Jan 4).

Indonesia has been supportive of crypto assets albeit wary of it competing against the rupiah, which is the only legal tender in the country. The central bank has issued a white paper to map out its digital currency, while a recently passed law recognises cryptocurrency and digital assets as regulated financial securities.

New investors are still rushing into the crypto market even as market activity plunged last year. There were 16 million crypto investors in Indonesia in the first 11 months of the year, from 11.2 million at the end of 2021. Trading value shrank to about 300 trillion rupiah (S$25.8 billion) during that period, a fraction of the 859 trillion rupiah seen in the previous year.

There are currently 383 crypto assets and 10 local coins that can be traded in Indonesia, with another 151 assets and 10 coins under review by Bappebti. BLOOMBERG