Indonesia allows trading exchanges to accept cryptocurrencies

The announcement was made by the Trade Ministry’s Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti), which specified that cryptocurrencies could be listed on exchanges or bourses as commodities.

The government officials said that the regulations would involve a wide number of institutions such as the Bank of Indonesia, the Financial Services Authority, the Taxation Directorate General, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre as well as the National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad. However, this decision could put the board on a collision course with Bank Indonesia, the country’s central bank, which has repeatedly stated that it does not recognize these currencies as payment instruments.

The product specification will, among others, include information about the type of cryptocurrencies and size of the trading instrument, while the procedure will include the trading hours and dispute settlement mechanism.