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 economics and cryptography.
Indonesian government to launch crypto exchange this year, official says – exchange Bitcoin news
The Indonesian government is set to launch a crypto exchange by the end of this year, a senior official has revealed. “We will ensure that all requirements, procedures and necessary steps are taken,” he stressed.
Crypto exchange coming soon in Indonesia
The Indonesian government plans to launch a crypto exchange by the end of the year, Dealstretasia reported on Wednesday, citing Indonesia’s Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga.
Speaking on the sidelines of the NXC International Summit 2022 by the WIR Group in Bali, the trade minister explained that the crypto exchange initiative is part of the government’s efforts to protect consumers amid growing interest in digital currencies.
Originally set to launch in 2021, the stock market launch was postponed due to the complexity of the process, the publication conveyed.
“We will ensure that all requirements, procedures and necessary steps are taken,” Minister Sambuaga said. – This is proof that we are careful. We don’t want to rush it, as that could cause us to miss something.” He elaborated:
Setting up a stock exchange requires a lot of preparation. We have to see which units should be included in the exchange.
“Secondly, we need to validate the aforementioned devices,” the authorities continued. “Thirdly, there are minimum capital and other requirements related to the custodian, technical things.”
Tokocrypto CEO Pang Xue Kai believes that a crypto exchange can help increase the number of participants in the crypto sector and interest from institutional investors. Tokocrypto is one of the 25 cryptocurrency exchanges licensed by the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti).
Pang meant:
The industry will grow, we will start to see more local projects.
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 income tax (PPh) on capital gains from crypto investments and value added tax (VAT) on crypto purchases at 0.1%.
In January, Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) warned that financial firms are not allowed to offer and facilitate the sale of crypto assets. However, the country’s Trade Minister Muhammad Luthfi said last September that the Indonesian government will not ban cryptocurrencies as China did. Nevertheless, Indonesia’s top Islamic body, the country’s Sharia compliance authority, has declared cryptocurrency haram, forbidden to Muslims under Islamic law.
Crypto transactions in Indonesia increased by 1,224% to 859.4 trillion rupiah ($57.5 billion) in 2021 from 64.9 trillion 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 the Indonesian government launching a crypto exchange? Let us know in the comments section below.
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