Indonesia’s Crypto Association Eyes Regulatory Shifts Post US Bitcoin Spot ETF Approval

Jakarta. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved 11 Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) to be traded on the market, as announced by its Chairman, Gary Gensler, on Wednesday.

The SEC has given the green light for Bitcoin Spot ETFs, including those from Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, BlackRock, Ark Investments, 21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco, and VanEck, among others. Several of these products began trading on Thursday.

As of Friday morning, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around $46,305 (Rp 720.27 million) after experiencing a decline from its highest level at $48,983 during Thursday’s trading session.

“We welcome and view positively the approval of the first Bitcoin Spot ETF in the United States by the SEC. This is a significant step in regulatory recognition of crypto and is a positive momentum for the entire crypto industry,” Yudhono Rawis, CEO of Tokocrypto, said on Thursday.

According to Yudhono, this approval could send a signal to regulators in Indonesia that crypto is increasingly being adopted by institutional investors and the general public.

“Crypto has become a more mature and trusted investment instrument,” he said.

As the Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Cryptocurrency Traders Association (Aspakrindo), Yudhono hopes that the decision regarding ETFs will prompt Indonesian regulators to formulate more comprehensive regulations for the crypto industry, creating a safer and more orderly environment for crypto industry players in the country.

“Imagine if large traditional financial institutions in Indonesia were allowed and follow the footsteps of institutions in the United States. For example, if major banks in Indonesia allocate 0.1% of their balance sheets to Bitcoin, then liquidity in the Indonesian crypto market will increase significantly. These banks will buy Bitcoin from official crypto asset traders in Indonesia,” he said

Currently, Aspakrindo is still awaiting government regulations regarding the transition and supervision of crypto assets from the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) to the Financial Services Authority (OJK). The association has also expressed its support for coordination between institutions, such as Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bappebti, to prepare for the transition by forming a Transition Team that will be coordinated by the OJK.

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