TL; DR Breakdown
- Bank of Indonesia exec wants CBDC to battle Bitcoin.
- The country’s Ulema Council brands crypto as haram.
- Other countries prepared to eliminate crypto.
Central bank digital currency is a system of payment that has been in the works for a long time among countries. Although other countries have launched their digital currency, most top countries still conduct tests before the official launch date. With that in mind, an executive of the Bank of Indonesia has mentioned that digital currencies could help countries across the globe combat digital assets. In the statement by Juda Agung, one of the top members of the bank, Indonesia is considering launching a digital version of its currency to intensify its fight against Bitcoin.
Indonesia’s Ulema Council says crypto is haram
According to the executive, digital currency could be the much-needed ingredient needed in the fight against Bitcoin. This is because the central bank backs the digital currencies, and this makes them trustworthy. In a Bloomberg report, Agung also mentioned that he hoped that people would turn to CBDCs instead of crypto in terms of financial transactions. He pointed out that despite regulators seeing the impact that the assets have on the economy, the trade ministry still allows traders to carry on with their activities. This latest update is coming off the back of a recent update that the Ulema Council in the country has branded the assets as forbidden under the laws of Islam.
Bank of Indonesia is working on its CBDC
According to a previous report, regulators are still at a loss on the approach to devise a regulatory framework for digital assets across Indonesia. Although making payments with digital assets has been banned as far back as 2017 throughout the country, crypto trading is very much present.
Around April, the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory arm of the Finance ministry in the country announced its plan to float a crypto exchange. In the report, the said crypto exchange would have the government’s support with the development to start towards the end of the year. However, it is unclear if the Bank of Indonesia will be involved in this plan.
Despite not having a clear guideline for crypto, the Bank of Indonesia and other regulators have been mulling the idea to float the country’s CBDC. In May, reports went around saying that the Governor of the Bank of Indonesia has signed off on plans to create the digital currency. China is another country that intends to use digital currency as a tool to displace crypto in the country. Russia is also another country with the same school of thought after Governor Nabiullina urged governments worldwide to use digital currency to shun crypto adoption.
