Indonesia Wants Citizens to Steer Local Crypto Exchanges: Report

Regulators are tightening rules in the wake of a global search for Terra co-founder Do Kwon.

AccessTimeIconSep 21, 2022 at 12:48 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:15 p.m. UTC
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Regulators in Indonesia are introducing a new rule requiring domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to be mostly led by its citizens, according to a Bloomberg report.

  • The rule would require at least two-thirds of directors and commissioners on crypto trading platforms to be Indonesians residing in the country, officials from the country's trade ministry and commodity futures trading regulatory agency said at a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta.
  • “That way, at least we can stop them from fleeing the country if any problem arises,” Didid Noordiatmoko, the agency’s acting head , said, according to the report.
  • Noordiatmoko didn’t say when the revised regulation would be issued, but said revisions will be made to Indonesia's existing guidelines for operating crypto exchanges.
  • The regulator's comments follow an effort by South Korea to hunt down Terra co-founder Do Kwon. The country had issued an arrest warrant for Kwon on charges of fraud, four months after Kwon's $40 billion Terra network collapsed.
  • Additional revisions to the rules in Indonesia include gradually doubling the minimum capital requirement for crypto exchanges to 100 billion rupiah ($6.7 million) in line with their growth, banning exchanges from reinvesting crypto assets and storing users' money in third-party bank accounts, according to Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga.
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    Amitoj Singh

    Amitoj Singh is a CoinDesk reporter.


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