Indonesia Plans Launch of Crypto Stock Market This Year

Before the year ends, Indonesia plans to launch a cryptocurrency bourse after being postponed last year because some of the finer points of the process had to be worked out.

“We will make sure that every requirement, procedure, and necessary step has been taken,” said Deputy Minister of Trade of Indonesia Jerry Sambuaga at the NXC International Summit, according to a DealStreet Asia report. 

Sambuaga said there wasn’t anything of note that caused the delay, but the country opted to move along a more cautious route before committing to a launch to ensure every detail was satisfied.

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“This is proof that we are being careful. We don’t want to be hasty as it may cause us to miss something. Creating a bourse needs many preparations. We need to see which entities should be included in the bourse. Secondly, we need to validate the said entities. Thirdly, there is minimum capital and other requirements related to custodian depository, technical things,” he said.

Currently, buying and selling crypto assets are authorized in Indonesia only for investment purposes. The move for a bourse is to help protect consumers in the country from scams and fraud, Deal Street Asia reported. 

Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade formally authorized crypto asset trading and recognized cryptocurrency as a commodity in 2018. The financial watchdog, the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Authority, or Bappebti, developed a regulatory framework for crypto-assets in 2019, per media reports.

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Bank Indonesia, the country’s central bank, recently ruled that cryptocurrencies are not a valid method of payment and that financial institutions in the region aren’t allowed to facilitate the use of crypto as a form of payment. 

Bappebti stopped issuing registration certificates for prospective crypto asset traders last month, the Tokenist reported, in a move toward trading transparency, fair competition, and protection for all interested parties. 

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