Cryptocurrency Legalities in Indonesia - Comprehensive Guide for 2024
As of August 2025, the regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies in Indonesia has officially shifted from the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) to the Financial Services Authority (OJK). This transfer, effective since January 10, 2025, reclassifies crypto assets from commodities to digital financial assets, placing them under the same regulatory framework as traditional financial securities overseen by OJK.
Key Changes Under OJK's Jurisdiction
With the shift in regulatory authority, several key changes have been implemented:
- Crypto assets are now defined as securities, and thus exempt from value added tax (VAT) on transfers, replacing prior commodity classifications.
- VAT on crypto-related services applies instead, such as 11% VAT on services from crypto trading platforms and wallet providers, and 2.2% VAT on verification services related to crypto mining.
- A revised tax regime mandates domestic sellers pay 0.21% tax per transaction (up from 0.1%), while sellers on foreign platforms pay 1%.
- Income tax treatment has been updated, with mining income from 2026 subject to ordinary personal or corporate income taxes instead of special taxes.
- All previously granted Bappebti licenses remain valid, but crypto companies must comply fully with OJK's requirements by July 2025.
Aligning Crypto with Traditional Financial Services
This transition reflects Indonesia’s more rigorous regulatory stance on crypto, aiming to align the sector with traditional financial services oversight and encourage domestic crypto platform activity while restricting unlicensed foreign operators. The new rules took full effect by August 1, 2025, including the tax regulation changes.
Regulatory Requirements and Sanctions
In Indonesia, administrative sanctions can be imposed for breaching crypto regulations, such as providing services without approval, violating Anti-Money Laundering/Prevention of Terrorism Financing/Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (AML/CFT) provisions, etc. Several types of crypto trading-related businesses are currently available in Indonesia, including futures exchanges, crypto futures clearing houses, crypto-asset storage managers, and crypto-asset physical traders.
Ongoing Regulation of Cryptocurrencies
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are not regulated in Indonesia yet. Cryptocurrency remains legal in Indonesia, but it can only be traded as a commodity and is not accepted as a payment instrument. Activities concerning cryptocurrency still require approval from BAPPEBTI to be conducted legally. The key crypto regulator in Indonesia remains the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti), although the regulatory authority over crypto-assets will be transferred to OJK by January 12, 2025, due to the enactment of Law 4/2023.
- The shift in regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies in Indonesia has aligned crypto assets with traditional financial securities, placed under the Financial Services Authority (OJK), moving them from being classified as commodities.
- With this new regulatory framework, crypto assets are now investment securities and exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) on transfers, but VAT applies to services related to crypto trading platforms, wallet providers, verification services for crypto mining, and other crypto-related services.
- Income tax treatment has been updated, with mining income from 2026 subject to ordinary personal or corporate income taxes instead of special taxes. Additionally, a revised tax regime mandates domestic sellers pay a higher tax of 0.21% per transaction, while sellers on foreign platforms pay 1%.
- The industry is aligned with traditional financial services oversight, aiming to encourage domestic crypto platform activity while restricting unlicensed foreign operators, in line with Indonesia's more rigorous regulatory stance on crypto-assets.
- Sports, personal-finance, technology, education-and-self-development, general-news, casino-and-gambling, and other sectors may find relevant updates in the regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies, specifically as they pertain to business, finance, and lifestyle, given the ongoing regulation and potential impacts.
