In a recent revelation, Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade announced that it aims to roll out a national crypto exchange by June this year, six months after its previous target of December 2022.
On February 2, at the opening of crypto literacy month in Jakarta, the capital city, Zulkifli Hasan, Trade Minister, shared that the government is currently reviewing which companies meet their criteria to become part of the exchange.
According to the minister, five active crypto exchanges are currently registered with the country’s regulators, and the ministry’s crypto exchange could encompass them all. While these exchanges currently facilitate all trades within the nation, the ministry’s exchange would act as a clearing house and custodian in the local crypto market.
Sources reveal that a clearing house is a mediator between a buyer and seller, ensuring the transaction goes smoothly. At the same time, its role as a custodian would see it manage the movement of assets between the two parties.
The trade minister urged the public to be patient with the national crypto exchange, so things don’t get messy. He said:
Let us not rush because things will get messy if it is not ready. The government does not want this to massively take a toll on the public because people do not know much [about crypto trading].
Previously, Indonesia had planned to set up its crypto exchange by the end of 2022, but it was delayed due to several obstacles.
Currently, crypto assets in the country are traded alongside commodity contracts and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency- also known as Bappebti- but the regulatory power will shift to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) following the creation of a national exchange.
The regulatory power was shifted to the OJK following the amendments made to crypto regulations on December 15, which recognized crypto and other digital assets as regulated financial securities. Todayq News reported in November that the country was willing to execute this change of power.
On December 5, Bank of Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo announced that a central bank digital currency it was planning to launch would be the only digital legal tender in the nation. While Indonesia does not allow cryptocurrency payments, as per data in June last year, there were over 15 million cryptocurrency investors in the nation, up from just 4 million two years earlier.