Indonesia’s Central Bank Bans Crypto Payments in Recent Crypto Crackdown
Indonesia’s central bank has issued warning to all financial services providers to stop accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment from their clients.
Regardless of the large scale adoption waves surrounding cryptocurrencies in past months, the Indonesian authorities have decided they want nothing to do with the crypto markets.
As per a report, the governor of Indonesia’s central bank, Perry Warjiyo, asserted that the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method in the country would no longer be allowed.
Governor Warjiyo made his statement during a virtual seminar on Tuesday, warning all financial services providers to stop accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment from their clients.
Warjiyo said that the restriction placed on using virtual currencies to make payments is not an entirely new concept, as it is actually based on already existing laws.
“[Cryptocurrency] is not legitimate payment instruments under the Constitution, Bank Indonesia Law, and Currency Law.”
To make sure that Indonesian financial services providers and payment processors follow the new policy, Warjiyo added that Bank Indonesia would assign field supervisors to enforce the rule on the activities of financial institutions.
Indonesia Planning a CBDC?
Despite Bank Indonesia not being comfortable with allowing the use of crypto assets in the country because of their extreme volatility rates and very little regulation, it is interested in creating its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The central bank reportedly has suggested that it will be issuing its digital rupiah to help “observe the economic condition and digitization context that is pushed by Bank Indonesia.”
Launching its own digital currency will enable the central bank to have total control over its performance and create clear regulations for it.
Massive Global Campaign Against Crypto
Indonesia is not the only country putting a stop to crypto; the entire cryptocurrency industry is facing a lot of regulatory scrutiny from financial regulators worldwide.
Cryptocurrency trading has been banned in many countries, for example Nigeria. And the latest regulatory pressure is happening in China.
In May, the China reiterated that it still prohibits financial services providers from processing crypto-related transactions. The country recently intensified its hostile attacks on crypto by blocking the social media accounts of many cryptocurrency influencers.
