TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsNavigating a new chapter for crypto assets, safely
As the number of crypto investors and transactions continues to grow rapidly, Indonesia must move equally swiftly to implement the OECD's CARF to ensure a safe domestic ecosystem founded on transparency.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Mock-ups representing the cryptocurrency Bitcoin are arranged in a pile, in this illustration created on Nov. 25, 2024. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic)
M
ore than a decade since Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin in 2009, crypto assets have evolved into investment instruments that are popular worldwide, including in Indonesia, where the number of crypto asset investors continues to climb.
As of August 2025, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) recorded 18.08 million crypto investors with a full-year transaction value of Rp 360.3 trillion (US$21 billion).
The promise of high returns and ease of access via digital platforms have driven this rapid growth.
From 2022 to 2025, Indonesia underwent a significant regulatory transformation regarding crypto assets. Government Regulation No. 49/2024 and OJK Regulation No. 27/2024 shifted the paradigm of cryptocurrencies from mere commodities to digital financial assets. Most recently, under Finance Minister Regulation (PMK) No. 50/2025, which went into effect on Aug. 1 last year, crypto assets classified as securities were no longer subject to value-added tax (VAT), as they were no longer treated as taxable goods.
Meanwhile, income from crypto transactions is now subject to a two-tier tax scheme, which carries rates of 0.21 percent for transactions conducted through licensed domestic crypto asset traders and 1 percent for those conducted through non-domestic entities. This framework provides much-needed legal certainty, signaling that the crypto ecosystem no longer operates under the fiscal radar.
However, behind this progress lies a major challenge. The cross-border nature of crypto assets, combined with their speed and independence from traditional financial institutions, makes them susceptible to tax evasion and illicit financial flows.
The lack of international regulations began to be addressed in 2023, when the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which specifically regulates the exchange of tax information on crypto assets. Guidelines released throughout 2024 confirmed that oversight was entering a new, transparent phase, and there is now a growing global consensus that the era of crypto anonymity is drawing to a close.
