Can you pay for things with crypto in Indonesia?

No. Bank Indonesia and OJK have repeatedly stated that crypto is not a lawful payment instrument and that the rupiah must be used for domestic transactions. Bali's governor warned tourists about penalties in 2023, including criminal sanctions and deportation. Selling crypto for rupiah on a licensed platform is a different thing.

Who regulates crypto in Indonesia now?

OJK, under the P2SK Law and POJK 27/2024, in force since 10 January 2025 and amended by POJK 23/2025. Bank Indonesia handles payments and the rupiah, the tax office handles tax, and PPATK handles money laundering. Bappebti's remaining role for crypto derivatives we did not research.

How many crypto platforms are licensed by OJK?

As of 23 September 2026 OJK recorded 34 licensed entities: 2 exchanges, 2 clearing institutions, 2 custody managers and 28 digital financial asset traders (PAKD), according to IDX Channel quoting OJK. The list changes, so check OJK's latest official list before you sign up to any app.

Is Binance legal in Indonesia?

Binance does not hold an OJK licence. Media report it among the platforms halted by Satgas PASTI, and OJK states that entities outside its whitelist are not licensed or supervised by OJK. Its Indonesian affiliate Tokocrypto is a licensed PAKD, but that is a separate entity from global Binance.

Can tourists or foreigners buy crypto in Indonesia?

We found no specific ban, but practical access is through licensed PAKD apps that run KYC. Indodax and Reku mention passports, Tokocrypto mentions a KITAS. Whether a short-stay tourist can open an account we could not confirm and it differs per platform. Paying with crypto remains prohibited.

Is using a foreign crypto exchange illegal?

We found no rule that criminalises retail users and no official OJK statement saying it is lawful. The criminal penalties in the P2SK Law target unlicensed operators. The practical risks are no OJK consumer protection, 1% tax you may have to pay yourself, and platforms being blocked.

Is crypto legal in Indonesia? OJK, BI and licensing explained

Q: Is crypto legal in Indonesia?

Owning and trading crypto is legal as a digital financial asset, provided it goes through an OJK-licensed operator. Crypto is not legal tender: the rupiah is the only lawful means of payment. Since 10 January 2025 the regulator is OJK, no longer Bappebti.

The short answer: yes, owning and trading crypto is legal in Indonesia as a digital financial asset, as long as it goes through an OJK-licensed operator. Crypto is not legal tender, though. You may buy Bitcoin on Indodax or Pintu, but you may not pay for a coffee or a villa rental with it. Since 10 January 2025 the rules are made and enforced by the Financial Services Authority (OJK), not by Bappebti any more. This page separates the three layers of rules, shows who actually holds a licence, and explains where tourists and foreign residents stand. For tax, read our crypto tax guide, and for spotting fraud see the crypto scams guide.

Checked against sources

Three questions people mix up

The confusion about "is it legal?" usually comes from three different questions rolled into one.

First, is owning crypto legal? Yes. Bareksa's guide of 7 August 2026 sums it up: legal as an asset, prohibited as a payment instrument. Second, is the platform legal? That depends on its licence. Only operators on OJK's list may run crypto trading in Indonesia. Third, can you pay with crypto? No. That is Bank Indonesia's territory and the Currency Law.

So "is it legal" only has a clear answer once you say which one you mean: the asset, the platform, or the payment.

From Bappebti to OJK: a timeline

Before 2025 crypto was regulated as a tradable commodity under the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti). Law 4/2023 on the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector (the P2SK Law) moved regulation and supervision of digital financial assets, crypto assets included, to OJK. According to OJK material quoted in the press, the handover had to be completed within 24 months of the law's promulgation.

Date	Event	Source
10 Dec 2024	POJK 27/2024 on trading of digital financial assets including crypto is enacted	Secondary (CryptoSlate)
10 Jan 2025	POJK 27/2024 takes effect, OJK takes over supervision from Bappebti	Secondary
10 Nov 2025	POJK 23/2025 amends POJK 27/2024, widening scope to other digital assets and derivatives	Secondary
19 Dec 2025	OJK publishes the first whitelist: 25 PAKD and 4 candidates (CPAKD)	Antara, CNBC Indonesia
25 May 2026	Luno licensed, the 26th PAKD	Investortrust
13 Aug 2026	PT Indonesia Digital Exchange licensed, the 27th PAKD	Warta Ekonomi
23 Sep 2026	OJK records 34 licensed entities, including 28 PAKD	IDX Channel quoting OJK

Two caveats. One, a single law firm reports that the P2SK Law was amended in mid-2026 and turned crypto firms into statutory financial institutions. We have not matched that against the text of the law, so we do not cite its number or date. Existing OJK rules stay in force until new implementing rules appear. Two, a Pintu Academy article says PADK 3/2026 on reporting formats for operators applies from 1 September 2026. That is a secondary source and we have not opened it on the OJK site.

As for Bappebti: as the regulator of spot crypto it has been replaced by OJK. Whatever role it keeps for crypto derivatives or futures we did not research, so we do not describe it.

OJK has also set out what comes next. Its Digital Financial Asset Innovation Roadmap 2026-2031 was presented on 2 July 2026, covering stablecoins, tokenisation, OTC, the Single Investor Identifier and cyber security. That is an agenda, not final rules.

Bank Indonesia and the payment ban

Bank Indonesia deals with a completely different side: payment instruments. The rupiah is the only lawful means of payment under Law 7/2011 on Currency. BI press release 20/4/DKom of 13 January 2018 warned payment system providers and financial institutions not to use or process transactions in virtual currency. OJK restated in October 2025 that crypto cannot be a means of payment.

A secondary legal summary we read also says Article 34 of PBI 18/2016 bars payment providers from processing "digital currency" transactions. We have not opened the regulation itself.

The practical effect is real. QRIS is Bank Indonesia's QR standard and runs in rupiah. We found no lawful route for merchants to accept crypto through QRIS. That is why topping up with QRIS and e-wallets means depositing rupiah into your own account, not paying with crypto. In Bali, in May 2023 the governor warned tourists about penalties including criminal sanctions and deportation, citing up to one year in prison or a Rp200 million fine for using a currency other than the rupiah (The Jakarta Post). All that shows is that the statement was reported. Applying the law to crypto is the framing used by the governor and BI.

Stablecoins are a special case. According to one law-firm summary of the amended law, a stablecoin may serve as a means of transaction with an exchange's recommendation and OJK approval, but not as a means of payment. That is one source and unchecked. As for a digital rupiah: BI's Project Garuda is at the wholesale stage, with a proof-of-concept report dated 13 December 2024, and BI has given no retail launch date.

Who holds a licence? How to read the OJK list

OJK's list is not one list but several categories. Understanding them stops you misreading it.

Category	What it does	Count at 23 Sep 2026
Exchange (bursa)	Where orders meet (CFX and ICEx)	2
Clearing and guarantee institution	Settles trades	2
Depository (custody) manager	Holds assets	2
Digital financial asset trader (PAKD)	The app you use	28

What you deal with day to day is almost always a PAKD: apps like Pintu, Indodax, Tokocrypto, Pluang, Ajaib, Reku, Luno and others. The exchange, clearing and custody layers sit behind the scenes. Besides PAKD there is the CPAKD, a candidate trader that is registered but not fully licensed. The first whitelist (19 December 2025) had 25 PAKD and 4 CPAKD. Two of the four candidates, Luno and PT Indonesia Digital Exchange, have since been licensed. The other two, Fasset and GudangKripto, are our inference from the candidate list, not an OJK statement.

The figures of 28 PAKD and 34 entities come from OJK's statement of 23 September 2026 as carried by the media, and we have not found the name of the 28th PAKD in any source we could open. So we do not copy out a full name list: lists change and copies on other sites go stale quickly. Examples of PAKD that appear in OJK-derived lists quoted by the media between December 2025 and August 2026: Pintu, Indodax, Tokocrypto, Pluang, Ajaib, Reku, Triv, Upbit Indonesia and Luno. A side-by-side view is in our best crypto exchanges in Indonesia.

A caution: brand names can change. Bybit Indonesia, for instance, is the relaunch of PT Enkripsi Teknologi Handal (Nobi), which is licensed. That is the local entity, not global Bybit.

How to check a licence yourself

Open the "Licensing of ITSK, digital financial assets and crypto assets" page on ojk.go.id. The list is published as dated PDFs (we saw positions for 2 March, 21 April and 25 May 2026). Take the newest one.
Match the exact company name, then match the website address and app name. The list covers each entity's official sites and channels, so the same brand on another domain is not licensed.
Note whether it says PAKD (licensed) or CPAKD (candidate, not fully licensed).
Still unsure? Call OJK's contact centre, Kontak OJK 157. {{/steps}}

More on red flags and fraud is in the crypto scams guide.

Foreign platforms: what is their status?

This is the most misunderstood area, so we choose our words with care. In the press release for its whitelist OJK says entities not on the list are not licensed and/or supervised by OJK. So a foreign platform that is not on the list sits outside supervision: there is no OJK complaints channel, and OJK cannot help if your account is frozen.

Satgas PASTI halted 228 illegal digital financial asset traders in January-May 2026 (CNBC Indonesia, 22 June 2026). Media that published the full list report that those halted include Binance, KuCoin, Coinbase, Bybit (the global platform, not Bybit Indonesia), OKX, MEXC and HTX. We rely on media reports for those names and have not read a list from OJK itself. In July 2024 Kominfo also blocked the Instagram accounts of Binance, Bybit, Bitget, KuCoin and MEXC at the request of OJK and Bappebti. According to third-party guides, these platforms remain technically reachable, but that does not make them licensed. We do not say specific sites were blocked in 2026, because we lack a primary source.

The penalties are aimed at operators. Article 304 of the P2SK Law, as quoted by Bareksa (20 August 2026), threatens unlicensed operators with 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine of Rp1 billion to Rp1 trillion. We found no rule that criminalises retail users, and no official OJK statement that using a foreign platform is lawful. So we write neither "illegal" nor "legal" for users. What we can write: no OJK licence means no OJK consumer protection, sales are taxed at 1% which you may have to pay yourself (see crypto tax), and platforms can be shut or blocked at any time.

CEX.IO often comes up in this conversation. According to its own legal pages, CEX.IO Markets UK is registered with the UK's FCA, CEX.IO Corp holds a US NMLS number, and its Spanish entity has applied for MiCA authorisation that is still under review. It holds no OJK licence and does not support rupiah, only USD, EUR and GBP. Our write-up is in the CEX.IO review.

OTC and P2P: where do they stand?

People ask about these two routes a lot. OTC is still a topic on OJK's 2026-2031 roadmap, which means we found no dedicated rule. We do not call it legal or illegal, only under OJK review. See our crypto OTC guide for minimums and how it works.

P2P mostly runs on unlicensed foreign platforms. We do not write that P2P users are committing a crime, and we do not say P2P is lawful. What is certain: it has no OJK consumer protection, and the practical risks are in our P2P crypto guide.

What about tourists and foreign residents?

What follows is our reading of the rules above, not an official OJK statement about foreigners.

First, foreign nationals can in principle hold and trade crypto as an asset through licensed PAKD, subject to each platform's KYC. Indodax accepts a passport for foreigners, Reku mentions a passport plus KITAS or KITAP, and Tokocrypto mentions a KITAS. The Pintu help page we read covers e-KTP for Indonesians and we found no foreigner route. Whether a short-stay tourist can open an account we could not confirm and it differs per platform. Do not assume you can.

Second, tourists may not pay merchants in crypto. Rupiah only. Third, sales via a PAKD are subject to 0.21% withholding. Whether non-residents have other duties we did not research.

Fourth, on turning crypto into cash in Bali: the USDT operators we found are self-described and unverified, and one of them admits it is unlicensed. Bank Indonesia counted 601 licensed money changers (KUPVA BB) in Bali in 2025 and runs moneychangerbali.com and BI-PATROL for reporting illegal ones. We found no news of police or immigration arresting a tourist for swapping USDT for cash. What is documented is robbery and kidnapping aimed at crypto holders, covered in the scams guide and the cash guide.

What we could not confirm

We deliberately leave some things blank because they are unverified: the travel-rule threshold that applies today (the USD 1,000 figure dates from the Bappebti era), whether there is an official retail investment cap, minimum capital and foreign ownership limits for traders, whether stablecoins such as USDT are available on PAKD, the exact identity of the second custody manager, and the name of the 28th PAKD. If you have an official source for any of these, send it to contact@crypto-indonesia.com.

So what is safe to do?

For most people it is simple: use a PAKD whose name and domain are on OJK's list, top up via bank transfer or QRIS, and sell on the same platform so the tax is withheld automatically. The full steps are in how to buy crypto in Indonesia. Do not pay for goods with crypto, and avoid swapping crypto for cash with strangers. Never send money to a platform just because its website says it is legal: a marketing claim is not a licence.

Is crypto legal in Indonesia, and who is allowed to sell it?

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