Table of Contents
Indonesia’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), has released new regulations that cover cryptocurrency.
Coming into effect in January 2025, the new batch of rules explores how financial services are affected by the sector's innovations. It aims to bolster the industry by offering directives for financial industry leaders such as banks, insurance companies, and others.
Consumer protection is a key aspect of the new guidelines, which promotes pilot testing, sandboxes, and reports on the findings.
Details are not provided but the guidelines serve as the foundation blocks for building a more structured and safer crypto environment, and demonstrate OJK's proactive stance on crypto.
OJK is also working with crypto regulator, Bappebti, and Bank Indonesia, to create a team to oversee this shift.
Recently, Bappebti called for the government to reconsider its digital asset tax rates. Indonesia currently classifies cryptocurrency as a commodity and is therefore subjected to value-added tax (VAT) of 0.11% and income tax of 0.1%.
Blockhead
"As crypto is expected to join the financial sector by January 2025, we urge the Tax Director General to review these taxes. It's been over a year since these rules were put in place, and taxes usually get checked every year," said Tirta Karma Senjaya, head of the Bureau of Market Development and Development at Bappebti.
Cryptocurrency is an increasingly popular asset in Indonesia. Ajaib Kripto, the crypto trading platform developed by Indonesian investment unicorn Ajaib, announced a tenfold surge in Bitcoin trading since Q4 2023.
“In the past five months, the demand for Bitcoin from our customers has been truly remarkable," the firm said.
This extraordinary growth coincides with Indonesia's rapidly expanding crypto market. According to the Indonesia Commodity Futures Trading Authority, the nation boasts over 18 million crypto investors, making it the seventh-largest crypto market globally.
"Investors are flocking to Ajaib Kripto for its ease of use, affordability, and most importantly, its reputation for reliability during this exciting time in the crypto market. Both novice and experienced investors are seeking a trustworthy platform that simplifies crypto investing and makes it accessible to everyone.”
