The Financial Services Authority (OJK), Indonesia’s financial services watchdog, released new rules on March 13 that will cover cryptocurrencies and will come into force in January 2025.
OJK’s Fresh Regulation to Strengthen Crypto and Financial Industry
The financial regulator released fresh directives that cover actions relating to digital financial assets like cryptocurrency. It is believed that these fresh directives will strengthen the financial industry.
To bolster the entirety of the financial sector, the latest directives spell out how novel technologies can be leveraged as opportunities emerge. This was directed at financial sector players including banks, insurance corporations, and many others.
The directives explore how financial services and products are impacted by the introduction of new financial sector innovations. This allows scrutiny of the digital operations of financial institutions.
Concerns for customers also take centre stage in the latest guidelines. For instance, customer protection, conducting pilot testing of technological innovations, and test result reporting are highlighted.
At the moment, technical in-depth coverage is not possible because the latest directives lack specifics. Notwithstanding, it’s foundational for overseeing cryptocurrency’s financial innovations in Indonesia.
This crypto regulation’s introduction demonstrates OJK’s proactive moves to get ready to take up crypto control by January 2025.
OJK is not working on this alone. A transition team comprising professionals from Bank Indonesia and Bappebti, the incumbent crypto regulator, has been instituted. This team will oversee the change in digital financial asset supervision.
Hope remains that OJK’s action of releasing the legal framework will allow increased adoption of cryptocurrencies and associated technologies.
Indonesia’s Move Towards Crypto Policy
Indonesia has not been silent on calling for guidelines to regulate crypto for a while. These efforts, which have culminated in collaborations with other nations, have also not gone unnoticed.
OJK began working with financial regulators from Malaysia, Singapore, and Dubai earlier this month to develop an all-encompassing crypto strategy. Establishing a strong foundation for crypto policy is the goal of these international partnership.
The partnership includes writing Memorandums of Understanding with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority of Dubai and Bank Negara of Malaysia are also involved.
Indonesia is at the heart of a digital revolution to transform its GDP to the tune of $2.8 trillion by 2040.
Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani called for an aggregation of policies to regulate crypto assets in 2023.
“We need a global standard to regulate and supervise crypto assets while applying the principles of same activity, same risk, and same regulation,” she said at a G20 even in July 2023.
Recently, there were indications that Indonesian regulators are considering changes to crypto’s dual taxation as well. According to one X user who deemed it “a step in the right direction”, the move would improve crypto adoption.
I believe lowering crypto taxes in Indonesia could definitely help drive adoption and encourage more innovation in the industry. It’s a step in the right direction.
— Zane Morin (@MorinZane56547) March 7, 2024