By
Chimamanda U. Martha
July 21st, 2023
Indonesia’s regulatory agency Bappebti has formed a Crypto Asset Committee to oversee the country’s crypto sector and ensure compliance.
Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, also known as Bappebti, has created a committee to monitor the cryptocurrency sector. The agency established the country’s new Crypto Asset Committee under a decree promulgated in January.
Indonesia Committee to Enforce Crypto Compliance
Speaking on May 2 at an event in Jakarta, Bappebti head Kasan said the aim is to ensure industry compliance. Kasan said:
“This committee will be a driving force, ensuring that the crypto asset industry continues to operate smoothly and remains within the applicable legal framework. Therefore, optimizing the role of the Crypto Asset Committee should be a key focus in implementing the current crypto asset ecosystem.”
The Committee’s function will include conducting an assessment of crypto, analyzing related reports, and managing a central database. Managing the database would require adding and removing crypto assets from its list. The Crypto Asset Committee comprises representatives from several stakeholders, including Bappebti, crypto exchanges, and academia. Personnel also includes people from government ministries, clearing institutions, and other stakeholders.
The Indonesian government has joined several jurisdictions to create regulations for the budding sector. In March, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) announced that all firms offering cryptocurrency services in the country must undergo a regulatory sandbox before receiving licenses. As part of the country’s regulations, all cryptocurrency exchanges are required to register with CFX, Indonesia’s crypto futures exchange.
Currently, Bappebti’s role includes regulatory and oversight functions for Indonesia’s crypto sector. However, the OJK will take over from Bappebti in January next year.
Crypto Regulations in Indonesia
Indonesia is likely to pay more attention to its local cryptocurrency sector as its popularity increases. According to Bappebti, there was a recorded surge in crypto transactions for February, rising to 30 trillion Indonesian Rupiah, about $1.92 billion at the time. The agency also said the number of crypto investors rose by 170,000 users from January and hit 19 million in February. Bappebti believes this happened because of a general crypto market rally in Bitcoin (BTC) and several altcoins.
In general, crypto enthusiasts in the country are optimistic about the landscape because of the presidential election results back in February. Former Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who is supportive of the crypto industry, won the elections by nearly 60%. Subianto’s running mate and incoming Vice President, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, is also a crypto supporter. During their campaign, they both announced plans to support the industry, highlighting tax compliance, and support for young blockchain experts in the industry.
Other Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand, are also paying attention to the crypto sector. For instance, the Deputy Secretary-General of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Anek Yooyuen, said the Commission is worried about crypto ads run by exchanges. Yooyuen said some of the advertised special offers entice users who do not fully understand investment risks. The SEC has now mandated that all ad and sales promotions must align with approved standards. The agency also requires that crypto trading platforms must include investment risk warnings in ad campaigns.