Towards Sustainable Regulations And Digital Economy, LPEM FEB UI Holds Dissemination Of Crypto Economic Study Results

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - The Institute for Economic and Community Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI) held a Dissemination of the Study Results of Crypto Economic Contribution Studies to the Indonesian Economy on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at the MPKP FEB UI Auditorium, Central Jakarta.

This event presented cross-sector speakers, including Prani Sastiono, Ph.D. (LPEM FEB UI), Dino Milano Siregar (Head of the Supervision Department of the Financial Services Authority IAKD (OJK), Tommy Elvani Siregar (Directorate of Regulation, Development, and Information Analysis of IAKD OJK), Timon Pieter (Directorate General of Taxes, Ministry of Finance), Subani (President Director of CFX), Mercy Simorangkir (Chairman of AFTECH), Robby (Chairman of ABI), and Ibrahim Kholilul Rohman, Ph.D. (Academicion).

This event became an important forum for regulators and industry players to discuss the findings of studies and policy recommendations to stakeholders.

In recent years, the crypto asset industry in Indonesia has grown rapidly. In 2024, the value of crypto transactions reached IDR 650.61 trillion, an increase of more than 33% from the previous year and Indonesia is also ranked third in the world crypto adoption.

In addition, as of July 2025, total crypto transactions have reached Rp276.54 trillion, with 16.5 million accounts. However, behind rapid growth, the crypto industry is inseparable from the problems of the rise of illegal platforms and adaptation of regulatory transitions to the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

LPEM FEB UI studies found that crypto assets have the potential to increase the depth of financial inclusion in Indonesia, especially by providing public access to digital investment with small denominations. From the survey, it was revealed that most (82 percent) of the 1,227 respondents bought crypto assets for long-term investment.

However, apart from the legal platform, there are quite a number of respondents who use legal and illegal platforms (20 percent) and only illegal platforms (5 percent). This indicates that there is still a need for incentives to further encourage the use of legal platforms, one of which is by increasing the variety of crypto assets through stablecoins and tokenizations as well as establishing competitive tax rates.

Uncompetitive tax rates can encourage users to migrate to illegal platforms. "Tax shifts from VAT to PPh without taking firm action against illegal platforms can actually make tax policies not optimal because users will tend to migrate to illegal platforms," explained Prani Sastiono, Ph.D., LPEM FEB UI researcher.

In 2024, trading crypto assets on legal platforms in addition to providing tax revenues of Rp620 billion also contributes to the economy as a whole. Using Input-Output analysis, studies found that trading crypto assets on legal platforms contributed 0.32 percent to national GDP or Rp70.04 trillion and created 333,000 jobs or equivalent to 0.23% of the total workforce.

On the other hand, trading in crypto assets on illegal platforms is estimated at 1.67' 2.66 times from trading on legal platforms. This resulted in a loss of potential government tax revenue of IDR 1.7 trillion and a wider contribution to the economy.

If all crypto asset trading on illegal platforms can be transferred to legal platforms, then the contribution of crypto asset trading in Indonesia will increase to IDR 189.46 - IDR 260.36 trillion or equivalent to 0.86 - 1.18 percent of the national GDP. This is accompanied by an increase in job opportunities to 892 thousand - 1.22 million or equivalent to 0.62 - 0.85 percent of the total national workforce.

Responding to the results of the study, OJK as the regulator of crypto assets in Indonesia said that after the transition based on Law Number 4 of 2023 concerning the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector, OJK emphasized the importance of academic-based research as the basis for policy making. OJK views data and objective analysis from credible institutions such as LPEM FEB UI can strengthen public understanding as well as become a strategic reference for the development of a healthy and responsible industry.

We welcome and appreciate the comprehensive study conducted by LPEM UI regarding the contribution of crypto to the Indonesian economy. The results of this study provide a strong academic view and further legitimize the position of crypto assets as an alternative investment instrument in Indonesia. Studies like this are very important to provide input and perspective as a consideration for regulators in formulating policies that can encourage innovation responsibly, "explained Tommy, Friday, October 10.

PT Central Financial X (CFX) as a crypto asset exchange stated that the results of this study to validate the legal crypto asset ecosystem have strong foundations and contributions to the national economy. CFX President Director Subani said the results of the study could be a momentum for the CFX Exchange to synergize more closely with regulators, in this case OJK and other stakeholders in supporting effective policy formulations.

"We will continue to strengthen literacy and education in order to build consumer trust and the importance of transactions on legal platforms. We will also accelerate product innovation such as derivative products, real world asset tokenization (RWA), to the use of crypto as loan guarantees to increase market competitiveness. We are optimistic that this synergy will maximize industrial contribution to the national economy in the future," said Subani.

In the panel discussion, Stella Lukman from AFTECH highlighted that crypto assets are borderless, so that Indonesia needs to strengthen competitiveness not only at the local level, but also globally. Meanwhile, Timo Pieter from the Directorate General of Taxes emphasized the importance of tax policies that are not distorted or change the behavior of crypto industry players.

One of the policies agreed with the association and OJK is to apply a higher tax rate for transactions with an offshore exchange. The hope is that this will be disincentive for perpetrators who trade on illegal platforms," Timon explained.

Seeing the potential and challenges of trading in crypto assets above, LPEM FEB UI emphasizes the importance of strategic policies to encourage the growth of a healthy, competitive, and dynamic crypto trading ecosystem. This strategic policy is in the form of enforcing regulations on the operationalization of illegal platforms in Indonesia, increasing crypto asset diversification, establishing competitive tax levels, and disseminating information accompanied by a wider digital investment literacy campaign to the public.

Finally, this strategic policy requires multi-party adaptation and collaboration so that crypto asset trading becomes an important pillar in strengthening Indonesia's secure, inclusive, and sustainable digital economy.