TL;DR Breakdown
- Indonesia to fight cryptos with CBDCs.
- Govt to leverage on spike in crypto investment to inject CBDC.
- Islamic scholar body in Indonesia says crypto is forbideen.
Indonesia Central Bank has said that it would use its coming central bank digital currency (digital rupiah) to fight Bitcoin and other private digital assets. Indonesia believes that its CBDC would be more credible than private digital assets.
However, the bank has failed to launch its CBDC in 2021 despite previously saying it would. Bank of Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said in May that it is on its way without revealing a specific launch date.
The governor highlighted to them that during the COVID-19 pandemic, locals have switched from cash to digital payments. As such, a CBDC monitored and controlled by the authorities would be the best option for that monetary transition, the institution opined.
In a recent report, Bloomberg noted that the digital rupiah would be used to fight” cryptocurrencies which cause a significant impact on the nation’s financial network. Juda Agung – an Assistant Governor at the bank – added that a CBDC is a more reliable option than bitcoin, ether, and the rest of the private digital assets.
Indonesia saw a spike in the number of crypto investors, and this has prompted the government to create a dedicated digital asset exchange by the end of 2021 since the country has more than 7 million crypto investors with transaction value hitting $30 billion.
‘Haram’ Indonesia against crypto?
Weeks back, the National Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top Islamic scholar’s body, declared operations in the crypto industry ‘Haram,’ i.e., forbidden.
The body held that this is because Bitcoin and altcoins are riddled with “uncertainty, wagering, and harm.” Nonetheless, the MUI’s Fatwa Commission Chairman, Asrorun Niam Soleh, explained that digital assets can be traded as a commodity if they obey the Shariah law and show a “clear benefit.”
With a population of more than 273 million, Indonesia is known as the most populated Muslim-majority nation.
