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Bitcoin Price Chart in Indonesian Rupiah
Bitcoin Market Capitalization
Bitcoin Regulation and Bitcoin Tax in Indonesia
The Indonesian Government through Bank Indonesia has issued a very blunt (emphatic) statement on the use of crypto currencies in Indonesia. It refers to bitcoin as a virtual currency” and has issued a public statement entitled, ‘Bank Indonesia Warns To All Parties To Not Sell, Buy or Trade Virtual Currency ‘ through the Department of Communication. It states that any virtual currency, including bitcoin, is not recognised as a legal payment medium and is therefore prohibited as a means of payment in Indonesia.
The bank has been very forthright regarding crypto currencies making it clear over the past few months they do not approve of virtual currencies and emphasised that with the shutdown of bitcoin payment providers and prohibiting exchanges from dealing in bitcoin and other crypto currencies. In November past year Bitbayer, an Indonesia alternative to Bitpay terminated its services and suggested its customers withdrawn their funds. Toko Bitcoin, a company which used to have customers purchase prepaid phone and electricity vouchers using bitcoin has stopped accepting bitcoin as a method of payment. Oscar Darmawan, CEO of bitcoin exchange PT Bitcoin Indonesia, in an interview explained that the closure was not the result of direct intervention on the part of the Central bank but simply to ensure they comply with the state regulations. Darmawan stated that “there have not been any direct requests from the Bank of Indonesia to Bitcoin Indonesia to close down these two websites.” The Central Bank of Indonesia is very specific that all financial obligations paid in money or “other financial transactions conducted in the Territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia shall only be by using the Rupiah.
Despite this authoritarian rule, bitcoin continues to be very popular in Indonesia especially among the young and other means of buying and selling bitcoin are being used more and more. P2P (peer to peer) systems such as Localbitcoins.com and using off shore exchanges are becoming more popular.
The bank of Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo recently issued the following statement. “Ownership of virtual currency is very risky and full of speculation because there is no authority responsible,” the central banker continues, “there is no official administrator, there is no underlying asset underlying virtual currency price and trading value is very volatile so vulnerable to the risk bubble and prone to be used as a means of washing money and financing of terrorism, so that it can affect the stability of the financial system and harm the public. Therefore, Bank Indonesia warns all parties not to sell, buy or trade virtual currency, and Bank Indonesia prohibits all payment system service providers (principals, switching organizers, clearing organizers, final settlement providers, issuers, acquirers, payment.
Despite this, as of this writing, the country’s most popular exchange, PT Bit Coin Indonesia, with a million users, continues to operate.
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