Indonesian companies banned from trading cryptocurrencies

On January 25, the Indonesian Financial Services Authority banned financial services providers from trading.cryptocurrencies.

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This decision is explained by two reasons.First, digital assets are often used by scammers and organizers of financial pyramids. Secondly, investing in virtual currencies carries a lot of risk due to the high level of volatility in the exchange rate of coins.

Financial institutions cannot not only buyand sell cryptocurrencies, but also promote services based on digital assets. Despite the negative attitude towards tokens and coins-memes, the Indonesian authorities are planning to open an exchange for trading cryptocurrency futures under the name Digital Futures Exchange. The launch of the platform is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, virtual currencies are very popular in Indonesia. Last year, the volume of trading in cryptocurrencies increased by more than 14 times compared to 2020 and reached $80.5 billion.

The trend associated with the restriction of access todigital assets is also observed in other countries of Southeast Asia. For example, in January, the Singapore Monetary Authority introduced a ban on advertising of crypto companies in public places, social networks and the media. Firms have the right to promote their services only on their own websites and mobile applications.

Both regulators called cryptocurrencies high-risk and speculative assets, which is why they are not suitable for use by the general public.

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