Indonesia’s Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti) has signed a decree to make cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin a commodity which could be traded on stock exchanges, The Jakarta Post reported referring to a local news source kontan.co.id.
The move is quite surprising as Bank Indonesia (BI), the country’s central bank, does not recognize cryptocurrencies as payment instruments. Earlier this year, the BI forbade all parties from buying, selling, or trading of digital currencies.
“The Bappebti head has signed a decree to make cryptocurrency a commodity that could be traded at the bourse,” said head of Bappebti market supervision and development bureau Dharma Yoga.
The decision follows a four-month study conducted by the board. On the basis of the research, the board arrived at the conclusion that cryptocurrencies deserved to be considered commodities, Yoga said.
He further said that the government is going to soon issue a supporting regulation encompassing a number of issues including currency exchange companies, taxation, and prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing. The regulation would involve various regulatory authorities including like BI, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the Taxation Directorate General, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) and the National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad.
Bappebti is now urging existing crypto bourses like Indodax and Crypto Community to submit their proposals on the product specification and the trading procedure, Yoga added.
