Indonesia Imposes Higher Crypto Taxes, Targets Overseas Platforms

Indonesia's finance ministry unveiled steeper cryptocurrency transaction taxes effective August 1, with offshore exchanges bearing the brunt of increases. The move follows explosive growth in the archipelago's digital asset markets, where 2024 trading volumes surged to 650 trillion rupiah ($39.67 billion) - triple prior year figures.

Domestic platform sellers now face a 0.21% levy, up from 0.1%, while overseas exchange participants confront a fivefold hike to 1%. The reforms eliminate value-added taxes for buyers but double mining VATs to 2.2%. By 2026, crypto mining income will transition from special 0.1% rates to standard tax brackets.

With crypto users now outnumbering stock market investors at 20 million strong, the regulatory adjustments reflect Jakarta's balancing act between revenue capture and market development. Digital assets remain legal for trading but prohibited as payment instruments under current law.