The Jakarta Post
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 resultsUrgent need to mitigate crypto risks in Indonesia
Crypto has been adopted as the main payment method in the darknet market, where illegal goods and services, such as drugs and payment card fraud products, can be traded.
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!
Set as preferred source
C
rypto assets have become a global phenomenon recently. On June 17, the Trade Ministry reported that the number of crypto transactions in the country had increased more than five-fold in May 2021 to Rp 370 trillion (US$26.4 billion) from Rp 65 trillion at the end of 2020. Furthermore, the number of crypto players in Indonesia also increased 62.5 percent to 6.5 million in May from 4 million at the end of 2020.
Behind the hype, there are undeniable vulnerabilities in crypto. Besides the volatility, crypto has various characteristics that make it a magnet for criminals to exploit. The transactions are pseudonymous, using a combination of alphabetical and numerical codes. It is nearly impossible to identify the ultimate controller of the wallet address without proper analytical tools.
The nature of crypto transactions also means that it has no jurisdiction boundaries. Therefore, moving crypto assets from one address to another and then exchanging them to fiat money abroad is easy. Moreover, the use of "mixers" can also raise the degree of anonymity by mixing cryptos with other random ones.
Crypto has been adopted as the main payment method in the darknet market, where illegal goods and services, such as drugs and payment card fraud products, can be traded. People only need an anonymous access to the platform and secure payment system like crypto.
Cyberscams are also evolving using crypto. Scammers may no longer ask victims to transfer an amount of money using a bank transfer, but request crypto as payment. Even now there are many fraudulent bitcoin investments that offer high and fixed returns, which is impossible in crypto.
In other criminal acts such as corruption in Indonesia, the detected cases to date generally are still using conventional instruments. However, amid the increasing prevalence of crypto transactions, it is possible that corrupt people may change the way they commit their crime, such as giving bribes and gratuities through crypto.
In the Asabri insurance case, for example, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) alleged that the perpetrator had laundered money to buy Bitcoin using nominees. Although the case is still under investigation, this certainly raises awareness especially among the authorities that perhaps the crime modus is shifting now into crypto. The problem is, we just have no idea how much this ecosystem has been abused.
