Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of finance and cryptography.
Indonesia Will Tighten Crypto Regulation With Stricter Rules For Exchanges – Regulate Bitcoin News
Indonesia is preparing to issue new rules to tighten regulation of crypto exchanges. Under revised regulations, two-thirds of crypto exchange directors must be Indonesian citizens residing in the country.
Indonesia plans to tighten crypto regulation
Indonesia is preparing to issue new rules to tighten regulation of crypto exchanges, officials from the country’s trade ministry and Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) said Tuesday during a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta.
One of the new rules requires two-thirds of the directors of crypto exchanges to be Indonesian citizens residing in the country. Didid Noordiatmoko, acting head of Bappebti, told parliament:
That way, we can at least prevent the top management from fleeing the country should problems arise.
The new measure followed the financial problems faced by Southeast Asia-focused crypto exchange Zipmex, which had to halt withdrawals.
Crypto exchanges will also be required to use a third party to store client funds. They will also be prohibited from re-investing stored crypto assets.
Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga told reporters after the parliamentary hearing:
We do not want to give permissions (for exchanges) carelessly, so only to those who meet the requirements and are trustworthy.
He noted without giving a specific time frame that Bappebti will issue the new rules soon.
Sambuaga also confirmed that the Indonesian government still plans to launch a crypto asset exchange this year. The stock market launch has been delayed several times.
Indonesia allows trading of crypto-assets as commodities, but does not recognize crypto as a means of payment. In April, Indonesia’s General Directorate of Taxes said it had set both income tax (PPh) on capital gains from crypto investments and value added tax (VAT) on crypto purchases at 0.1%.
Crypto transactions in Indonesia increased by 1,224% to 859.4 trillion rupiah ($57.5 billion) in 2021 from 64.9 trillion rupiah in 2020, according to Bappebti. In the first six months of this year, there were 15.1 million crypto users in Indonesia, trading 212 trillion rupiah worth of cryptocurrencies.
What do you think about Indonesia’s new requirements for crypto exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below.
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