Indonesia Legalizes Cryptocurrency as Tradable Asset

Crypto can now be traded legally as a commodity in Indonesia thanks to a new regulation that grants it this new legal status, as reported by KrASIA, February 15, 2019.

Let the Trading Begin

The crypto community in Indonesia has scored a huge coup as crypto exchanges are now legal in the country. As per the report, Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency, also known as Bappebti, issued regulation No.5/2019 which now legally recognizes digital currencies as a tradable commodity.

This is a much-needed sign of progress as just a few days ago, the government was under fire for a new law that required $70 million in capital for crypto futures trading. Many felt that the new law was too stringent and would go on to hurt the progress of the crypto industry.

This new law, however, protects the industry by granting cryptocurrency legal status, defining it and protecting those who trade in it. Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana, the Head of the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency said:

“We want to give protection to people who want to invest in crypto assets so that they aren’t cheated by fraudulent sellers,”

Past, Present and Future

While this new regulation was just passed, crypto trading had been taking place in Indonesia long before now. The problem was that their legal status was in a grey area, which was further compounded when the government banned cryptocurrency as a form of payment.

This draws parallels in the confusion that existed regarding cryptocurrency users and taxes when people weren’t sure when and how to pay taxes, or if crypto was even legally taxable, which has begun to cha until world governments stepped in and created concrete laws.

Before crypto trading can take place in Indonesia, however, traders need to pass a risk assessment evaluation in order to verify that the funds being handled aren’t for criminal or terrorist activities. Also, traders are required to have a division for client support as well as at least one member of staff that is a certified security practitioner and keep transaction recorded for at least five years. On top of this, their server must be located in the country.

While this law is some sign of progress, not all agree with the idea, with some feeling that It came too late, in the middle of the crypto winter rather than during the boom of a few years ago.