Indonesia is preparing something exciting for its crypto space as reports indicate it plans to establish a crypto stock exchange.
Indonesia Hints at a Possible Crypto Stock Market Launch
Crypto enthusiasts in Indonesia are pumped up for the latest development in the country’s digital asset ecosystem. According to media reports, the Island nation is preparing to launch a crypto stock exchange by the end of the year.
The country’s deputy trade minister, Jerry Sambuaga, revealed that plans are underway to establish a stock market for the industry. Jerry added that the project is expected to be ready before the end of the year.
However, the government official noted that the move requires preparations and rigorous verification of entities and capital. Furthermore, there is also a minimum capital requirement that interested firms must meet before being cleared to participate in the market.
The Southeastern Asian country has been considering having a crypto exchange for a while now. The initial launch was scheduled for last year. However, due to challenges in the process, the government postponed the plan to this year.
According to the deputy minister, the aim is to bring the over 25 licensed crypto exchanges in the country into a single market. The government is one of the few nations with robust crypto regulations and a near-perfect oversight agency.
It is worth noting that Bappebti is the country’s commodity futures trading regulatory agency charged with overseeing crypto exchanges.
According to data from the regulator, digital asset transactions in Indonesia have surged by nearly 1000%. In addition, it spiked from 64.9 trillion rupiahs to 859.4 trillion rupiahs in 2020 and 2021, respectively. It is more telling that roughly 4% of its population trades in crypto assets.
Moreover, over the past few years, it has experienced an increasing number of celebrity tokens like NFTs. The digital asset industry is booming, with more individuals and institutions entering the ecosystem.
Indonesia’s Tech Giant Acquires Crypto Exchange
According to recent reports, the country’s leading tech firm, GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GoTo), has acquired a local crypto platform. The tech giant’s acquisition of Kripto Maksima Koin signals the company’s first move into the crypto industry.
The tech firm appears to be on a diversification drive, thus the recent $8.38 million acquisition of the crypto exchange.
In 2021, GoTo was formed by merging the e-commerce platform Tokopedia with the ride-hailing service GoJek.
The company raised about $1 billion in an IPO in April and has contributed to over 2% of Indonesia’s GDP.
Meanwhile, the crypto sector has turned out to be one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country. The regulatory agency has allowed international crypto and blockchain companies to invest.
Meanwhile, not all crypto assets are considered legal. The specific legal digital assets in Indonesia include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, Dogecoin, and Cardano. The country allows only licensed service providers to operate in its territory.
Still, like other countries, Indonesia has some work to do as cryptocurrency adoption continues to explode.
