Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Trade, Jerry Sambuaga, has expressed optimism that the newly-opened crypto exchange in Indonesia would be able to compete with other exchanges abroad.

At the Conference on National Strategic Projects in Jakarta on Thursday, he said that the country's crypto market was very competitive. In 2021, local crypto transactions reached Rp 859.4 trillion (around US$57 billion).

"Imagine, Rp 2.3 trillion (around US$153 million) per day on average," he remarked.

Sambuaga noted that the massive figure of crypto transaction volume demonstrates the high level of enthusiasm among members of the public and business actors in Indonesia's crypto assets market.

The increasing popularity of crypto assets as a new type of investment instrument in Indonesia is the result of the inevitable development of technology, he said.

He added that the country needs to formulate related regulations and provide supporting facilities to respond to the trend.

Currently, matters related to crypto exchange are supervised by the Ministry of Trade by referring to the regulations found in the Financial Sector Development and Strengthening (P2SK) Law. However, the supervision will later be delegated to the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

Sambuaga also stated that the government and related stakeholders are currently devising a set of rules that will stipulate the imposition of fees on crypto transactions.

"The government is working together with the Indonesian Crypto Traders Association, OJK's investment task force, and other related stakeholders to comprehensively discuss and study this matter," he stated.

The country's crypto exchange was established with the objective of providing clear regulations as well as facilitating and protecting consumers.

"This crypto exchange will comprehensively regulate everything, especially by providing regulations and policies that prioritize the principles of transparency and accountability to ensure protection for (crypto) business players," Sambuaga stated.

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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Anton Santoso
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