- Indonesia had 7.2 million digital currency owners in 2021.
- Nahdlatul Ulama has declared Bitcoin haram.
One of the world’s most influential digital currency centers has banned banking institutions from involving in digital currency. Amid increasing pressure from influential religious groups, Indonesia’s banking regulator has reaffirmed its prior warning against the quickly developing sector.
There has been a dramatic increase of 859 trillion rupiah ($59.83 billion) in 2021 crypto asset trading in Indonesia, up from only 60 trillion rupiah in 2020, according to reports and trade ministry statistics.
An Instagram post from the Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, urged financial institutions to avoid dealing with digital currencies. Digital currencies have been forbidden by authorities worldwide, but the OJK is the most recent.
Pressure From Prominent Islamic Groups
The digital currency market in Indonesia is one of the largest in the world. Despite the restriction on digital currency purchases, the country’s overall involvement increased by 1,770 percent, and the number of Google searches increased by 600 percent in 2021. According to reports, Indonesia had 7.2 million digital currency owners in 2021, roughly double the figure in 2020.
Pressure from major religious groups to outlaw digital currency has been increasing recently, leading to this new crackdown. The prominent Islamic religious group, Nahdlatul Ulama, has declared Bitcoin haram and called on the government to outlaw it. Furthermore, they are calling for a government ban on Bitcoin. Although China has declared a comprehensive ban on cryptocurrencies, Indonesia has made it clear it would not follow suit. There is no intention of placing a blanket ban on crypto, but rules will be tightened, said the Minister of Trade, Muhammad Luthfi.
