The Government Is More Interested In Crypto, Development Continues To Be Done By Reinforcing The Rules Of The Game

Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Trade has expressed an open attitude towards domestic and foreign companies to join the growing crypto asset market in Indonesia.

Deputy Minister of Trade, Jerry Sambuaga, reminded interested business entities to pay close attention to traceability and security aspects comprehensively.

“The Indonesian government is in the process of establishing a crypto asset exchange, clearing house, and custodian to support the Indonesian crypto asset ecosystem. Furthermore, the government will continue to monitor the development of this extraordinary transaction and customer value so that crypto asset trading remains on the right corridor", he said in a written statement, quoted on Saturday, July 16.

According to Jerry, in Indonesia crypto assets are categorized as commodities that can be traded on futures exchanges.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade through the Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency (CoFTRA) has issued the latest regulation to accommodate the physical trading of crypto assets in Indonesia, namely CoFTRA Regulation Number 8 of 2021 concerning Guidelines for the Implementation of Physical Trading of Crypto Assets on the Futures Exchange.

“The completeness of related technical arrangements in the form of input from other ministries/institutions is accommodated in the CoFTRA regulations. This arrangement includes a physical trading mechanism for crypto assets", he said.

The regulation is expected to provide benefits, such as increasing domestic investment, providing protection to consumers, preventing money laundering and terrorism financing, increasing job opportunities, and providing tax revenue benefits.

“The growth in transaction value and the number of crypto asset customers in Indonesia is extraordinary. In 2021 we can record a transaction value of IDR 859.4 trillion or a growth of 1,224 percent compared to 2020 which was recorded at IDR 64.9 trillion", he explained.

For information, crypto assets are one of the development of the blockchain. This digital ledger technology records transactions and secures data in many databases that are widely distributed on computers.

This makes blockchain a technology that no longer requires a third party in the process of exchanging data or transactions, providing the transparency needed to eliminate fraud and corruption while offering real-time updates.

Blockchain technology can be applied as government databases, smart contracts for income tax collection, digital registration, and digital identity.