Indonesian Trade Minister: “we are not going to ban cryptocurrencies”

The Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Muhammad Lutfi, said that the country will not follow the path of China and introduce a ban on cryptocurrencies, but will focus on regulating them.

Muhammad Luthfi announced this after the recent extension of the ban of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on cryptocurrency activities. Due to the prohibitive measures of the Chinese regulators, local miners were forced to move equipment to other countries, and now information sites about cryptocurrencies are also suffering from the actions of the Chinese authorities. Many traders fear that other Southeast Asian countries will follow China’s example and ban cryptocurrencies as well.

However, the Indonesian government has decided to allay their concerns. Lutfi said that instead of imposing restrictive measures on cryptocurrencies, Indonesia will begin to explore ways to effectively regulate them. Considering that the number of cryptocurrency transactions in the country has grown significantly since the beginning of the year, local regulators may tighten the regulatory requirements for the industry.

Lutfi explained that stricter rules will not only help protect citizens from intruders in the cryptocurrency space, but also create a safe environment for institutional investors to enter the cryptocurrency market.

“We will not impose a complete ban on crypto assets, but we can tighten control over them,” said the Indonesian Trade Minister.

In 2018, the Indonesian Ministry of Commerce recognized cryptocurrencies as exchange commodities, however, they cannot be used as a means of payment in the country. In addition, this year, the Central Bank of Indonesia began exploring the possibility of launching its own digital currency.