Key Takeaways:
- Cryptocurrency in Indonesia was regulated as a commodity, but in the beginning of 2023, the government could consider to class this as cryptocurrency.
- There are more than 100 cryptocurrencies that are legally approved by Bappebti to be traded and invested.
- The Indonesian government also imposes a tax on every crypto transaction made by traders and investors.
Cryptocurrency investment in Indonesia is increasing from year to year. First present on the Indonesian market in 2013 which was marketed through the Bitcoin.co.id website, now the adoption of crypto in Indonesia is increasing. Based on data from the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (CoFTRA/Bappebti), there were recorded 11.2 million crypto investors in Indonesia until 2021. Meanwhile, in February 2022 the number of crypto investors in Indonesia increased to 12.4 million with total transactions reaching IDR 83.3 trillion.
Along with the increasing number of crypto investors in Indonesia, is cryptocurrency considered legal in Indonesia? How is the tax charged for each crypto transaction?
What is the Legality of Cryptocurrency in Indonesia?
As with other types of investment, of course legality is needed regarding the use of cryptocurrency as an investment instrument. Along with the increasing use of cryptocurrencies in Indonesia, of course regulations and regulations related to cryptocurrencies continue to be adjusted. Based on the Surat Menko Perekonomian Nomor S-302/M.EKON/09/2018, cryptocurrency is considered a commodity that can be traded on futures exchanges, not as a means of payment.
This is because seen from an economic perspective, cryptocurrency has great investment potential. If cryptocurrency investment in Indonesia is banned, it is feared that it will have an impact on the large number of capital outflows due to consumers looking for markets that legalize cryptocurrency transactions.
Then in 2019 the government through Bappebti clarified the legality of cryptocurrency in Indonesia as stated in Bappebti Regulation Number 5 of 2019 concerning Technical Provisions for Organizing the Physical Market for Cryptocurrency on Exchanges.
But in 2023, Indonesia government started to shift crypto regulatory authority from commodities watchdog Bappebti to the Financial Services Authority (OJK), indicating a shift in the country's approach to police the industry and an awareness that it is more than asset trading. The law, signed by Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, on 12 January 2023, is a financial rules overhaul that updated at least 17 outdated local laws to reflect technological advances.
List of Fully Registered Cryptocurrencies by Bappebti
Even though cryptocurrency is allowed as a commodity in Indonesia, not all cryptocurrency allowed to be listed in Indonesia. Below are some cryptocurrencies that are registered by Bappebti.
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Tether (USDT)
- USD Coin (USDC)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Binance Coin (BNB)
- Polkadot (DOT)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Bitcoin SV (BSV)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- EOS (EOS)
- Tron (TRON)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Stellar (XLM)
- Neo (NEO)
- Nem (XEM)
- Cosmos (ATOM)
- Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
- Iota (MIOTA)
- Vechain (VET)
- Dash (DASH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Yearn.Finance (YFI)
- Theta Network (THETA)
- Binance USD (BUSD)
- Omg Network (OMG)
- Maker (MKR)
- Ontology (ONT)
- Synthetix Network Token (SNX)
- Uma (UMA)
- Uniswap (UNI)
- Dai (DAI)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Algorand (ALGO)
- True USD (TUSD)
- Bittorrent (BTT)
- Compound (COMP)
- 0x (ZRX)
- Basic Attention Token (BAT)
- Kusama (KSM)
- OKB (OKB)
- Waves (WAVES)
- Digibyte (DGB)
- Icon (ICX)
- Qtum (QTUM)
- Ren Protocol (REN)
- Loopring (LRC)
- Ampleforth (AMPL)
- Kyber Network (KNC)
- Augur (REP)
- Lisk (LSK)
- Decred (DCR)
- Bitshares (BTS)
- Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
- Aragon (ANT)
- Elrond (ELROND)
- Enjin coin (ENJ)
- Band Protocol (BAND)
- Balancer (BAL)
- Nano (XNO)
- Swipe (SXP)
- Solana (ADA)
- Dfi.money (YFII)
- Decentraland (MANA)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Numeraire (NMR)
- Golem (GLM)
- Quant (QNT)
- Bytom (BTM)
- Serum (SRM)
- Iexec RLC (RLC)
- Just (JST)
- Verge (XVG)
- Pax gold (PAXG)
- Kava (KAVA)
For a full list of cryptocurrencies that regulated by Bappebti, you can check it here.
Cryptocurrency Transaction Tax in Indonesia
The Indonesian government also imposes a tax on every crypto transaction made by traders and investors. As of May 1, 2022, the Ministry of Finance will officially start taxing all crypto transactions made by investors in Indonesia.
The types of taxes imposed on crypto are Value Added Tax (PPN) and Income Tax (PPh). This new policy is included in Peraturan Menteri Keuangan (PMK) no. 68 tahun 2022 regarding Value Added Tax and Income Tax on Crypto Trading Transactions.
Below, are regulations on the imposition of crypto transaction taxes in Indonesia:
PPN
For purchase transactions
- 0.11% of the transaction value of crypto, if the Electronic Trading System Operator (PMSE) is a physical trader of cryptocurrency.
- 0.22% of the transaction value of crypto, if the organizer of Electronic Trading Systems (PMSE) is not a physical trader of cryptocurrency.
For exchanger services
Exchangers and e-wallets are subject to the general PPn mechanism.
PPh Pasal 22
- 0.1% of the transaction value of cryptocurrency for PMSE or companies that have obtained government approval to sell cryptocurrency.
- 0.2% of the transaction value of crypto assets for PMSE or companies that do not obtain government approval to sell cryptocurrency.
