Indonesia Launches State-Backed Crypto Exchange and Clearing House

The Indonesian commodities futures regulator has established the country's official cryptocurrency exchange as part of its efforts to regulate the fast-growing digital asset space. Additionally, the regulator has established a clearing house for digital assets.

The Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (CoFTRA) made the announcement yesterday (Thursday). In the statement, the regulator noted that it had created an official platform for storing digital assets in the country.

Indonesia Crypto Regulations

The latest development is part of the efforts by the CoFTRA to regulate the fast-growing digital asset space. According to the market watchdog, the number of registered crypto users in the country is 17 million from a population of approximately 300 million. The crypto bourse and clearing house were initially planned to be launched before the end of 2021 but were postponed, the latest being in June.

Commenting about the launch of the new platforms in a statement translated from Indonesian, the Head of the CoFTRA, Didid Noordiatmoko, said: "The establishment of the exchanges, clearing house, and managers of the crypto asset depository is proof that the Indonesian government is present in an effort to create a fair crypto asset trading system that guarantees protection for the public."

CoFTRA's Crypto Regulations

Additionally, CoFTRA is planning to work with other financial institutions, including the Bank of Indonesia, the Financial Services Authority, and the Ministry of Finance, to mitigate the risks associated with the trading of digital assets. The regulator is also planning to engage the public to identify such risks.

"By their nature, crypto assets can experience a very drastic increase or decrease in value in a short time. For this reason, a good understanding of the community is needed, including the benefits and the potential risks of trading the digital assets," Noordiatmoko added.

In June alone, Indonesians transacted IDR 9 trillion (USD $600 million) worth of cryptocurrencies, which is an increase of 9% compared to the transactions in the previous month, CoFTRA noted. Additionally, the number of crypto users increased by more than 140,000 in the period. The popular cryptocurrencies traded in the archipelagic state include Tether, Bitcoin, ether, XRP, and Binance Coin.