Indonesia Set To Launch National Cryptocurrency Exchange This Month

Indonesia is looking forward to creating a more regulated environment for cryptocurrency platforms by launching a national cryptocurrency exchange within weeks.

The Futures and Commodity Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) of Indonesia announced that it would launch the national cryptocurrency exchange this month through which all crypto transactions will be done through it only, Tempo Magazine quoted Didid Noordiatmoko, the head of Bappebti, as saying.

“Yesterday we agreed on the stock exchange rules. So the know-your-customer (KYC) process and all kinds have been regulated there. Yesterday we conducted system integration tests between traders, exchanges, clearing, and depository,” Noordiatmoko noted.

Bappebti will give one month as a grace period for licensed traders to join the exchange, but this is in case of no more instructions from Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan. It plans to restrict cryptocurrency sales to local transactions, but it will keep them in line with international market developments, including the question of crypto prices, after the approval of Bappebti.

It is worth mentioning that Hasan said in February that his country targets to launch its national crypto exchange by June this year after it aimed to roll out in December 2022.

According to TripleA’s data, cryptocurrency ownership in Indonesia has increased from 2.7% in 2020 to 4.5% in 2021, representing an increase of about 5 million cryptocurrency users.

The majority of Indonesian cryptocurrency owners are in the 18-44 age group (78%). Only 4% of them are 45 and above. This suggests that cryptocurrencies are largely owned by Indonesian millennials.

Crypto ownership in Indonesia is increasing thanks to tripartite efforts by the government, the private industry, and crypto communities, to grow this sector.