Indonesia Launches National Cryptocurrency Exchange

Bappebti, Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency, issued a statement indicating that the national cryptocurrency exchange announced by the Indonesian government a week ago has commenced operations.

The platform will be the sole location in the nation where the legal exchange of digital assets will be permitted. Bappebti verified the July 20 opening of the exchange.

In addition to establishing the exchange, the agency has also established a clearing house for futures. A clearing house acts as an intermediary between a buyer and vendor to ensure a smooth transaction.

Previously, it was rumored that Bappebti would restrict the sale of cryptocurrencies to local transactions while maintaining them in line with global market developments.

Traders with a valid license will have a month to join the exchange. The initiative has been in development at least since December 2021.

In September 2022, Pang Hue Kai, CEO of Tokokrypto, one of 25 licensed cryptocurrency exchanges in Indonesia that are partially owned by Binance, referred to the initiative as “a catalyst for the Indonesian cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

The launch, originally scheduled for the end of 2022, was pushed back to June 2023 due to the process of evaluating potential exchange participants.

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan proclaimed at the time that all active crypto exchanges with a national registration could join the exchange.

Jerry Sambuaga, deputy minister of Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, proposed several policy changes in 2022 in response to an “interesting year for the development of physical crypto asset trading.”

Among them was a requirement that two-thirds of crypto company directors and commissioners be Indonesian citizens.

According to Bappebti data, the country remains an attractive market for the crypto industry.

In 2021, approximately 4% of the nation’s population, or approximately 11 million people, had invested in cryptocurrencies.