The controversy surrounding the presidential election held in February in Indonesia was initiated after the winning duo declared their victory before the official results were publicly released. However, this win heralds stability and a possibly favorable legislative environment for the crypto business.
Within a short time after poll closure, the Quick Count provided that sixty percent of the nation’s votes rested with former defense minister Prabowo Subianto and the remaining forty percent for Gibran Rakabuming, son of the current president. Participants in the cryptocurrency industry are hesitant not to take sides; however, they consider the accomplished outcomes as a potential sign that the country’s policy toward blockchain may remain the same or even get better. The ruling party will win this election.
Subani, the leader of Indonesia’s official cryptocurrency platform, said to CoinDesk Indonesia that his exchange does not side with any political matters.
“Although Gibran focused on crypto during the election and presidential debates, the crypto industry in Indonesia was thrilled by the attention,” Subani said.
Gibran is assured to grow the blockchain experts in Indonesia, and the country is a huge fan of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency was also one of the issues that Gibran sought to raise during his campaign.
The cryptocurrency business has mostly grown in an uncontrolled manner in Indonesia during the administration of President Joko Widodo, who also happens to be Gibran’s father.
Indonesia’s Growing Crypto Industry and Government Regulation
Being the first national bourse for crypto assets in the world, the government of Widodo also regulated the crypto business. His government also introduced a preventive tax system, and speculations suggest it might concur with crypto tax reliefs.
“Gibran, as a representative of the younger generation, must have a roadmap that will move blockchain and crypto,” said William Sutanto of INDODAX, a top Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange, to CoinDesk Indonesia.
In order to enable Indonesia to compete with other Southeast Asian countries—Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, for instance—Sutanto expects that the government will fully embrace bitcoin.
The volume of trade in cryptocurrency in Indonesia is higher than in any other Southeast Asian country, aside from Thailand and Vietnam, because of the lower volume of trading.
Another large local exchange, Tokocrypto CEO Yudhono Rawis, has suggested that blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies could raise Indonesia’s economy and investment environment. He believes that the growth prospects of Indonesia’s crypto industry are linked to better infrastructure, education, and transparent regulations.