Indonesia to launch crypto exchange in 2023, to be regulated as “financial instruments”

• Indonesia plans to launch a crypto exchange in 2023.
• The country is shifting the regulatory oversight over crypto to the Financial Services Authority.

2023 will see key reforms in Indonesia’s crypto industry. As a part of this reform, the island nation will launch an exchange later this year, which would be launched ahead of a major shift in the country’s crypto industry. 

New exchange under new regulators

According to a report published by Bloomberg on 4 January, the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency of Indonesia, also known as Bappebti, will relinquish its oversight of crypto assets to the Financial Services Authority, a securities-focused agency. 

Didid Noordiatmoko, the acting head of Bappebti, stated that the FSA will assume regulatory power over crypto assets from the commodities agency over the next two years. During this time, Indonesia will set up a crypto exchange. 

An official from Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance reported that the shift of regulatory power from commodities to securities agency was warranted due to the status of crypto assets as investment vehicles. He added:

“In fact, crypto assets have become investment and financial instruments, so they need to be regulated on an equal basis with other financial and investment instruments.” 

The crypto industry of Indonesia

The shift in regulatory authorities will affect the 383 crypto assets and 10 local coins currently available in Indonesia. Bappebti is currently reviewing another 151 assets and 10 local coins. The country has 16 million crypto investors, with more rushing in despite an industry-wide downturn. 

The crypto winter had an impact on the country’s crypto trading volume. Between January 2022 and November 2022, the trading value went from 859 trillion rupiah to 300 trillion rupiah, a 66% decline. 

In December 2022, Perry Warjiyo, the Governor of Indonesia’s central bank, unveiled plans to launch a CBDC dubbed the “Digital Rupiah.” The CBDC will reportedly be used for various digital economic and financial transactions.