Indonesia Looks to Bitcoin as a Strategic Asset – Despite Rising Crypto Taxes
Indonesian officials are exploring how Bitcoin mining and education could strengthen the economy, even as new crypto taxes and payment bans tighten.
Indonesia may be taking its first steps toward integrating Bitcoin into its national strategy. According to Bitcoin Indonesia, a delegation recently met with top government officials, including advisors to Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to discuss how Bitcoin could serve as a strategic asset—not just for reserves, but for nationwide economic growth.
The discussion reportedly covered everything from Bitcoin mining to public education initiatives, with a surprisingly direct question raised: What if Indonesia used Bitcoin mining to build its national reserves?
Energy, Education, and a $49M Bitcoin?
With over 280 million people and a GDP of $1.4 trillion, Indonesia is one of the world’s largest economies. The country’s vast geothermal and hydroelectric potential could provide the backbone for sustainable Bitcoin mining—an approach already delivering jobs and revenue in other nations.
Bitcoin Indonesia also highlighted long-term projections like Michael Saylor’s bold estimate of Bitcoin reaching $13 million—or even $49 million—in the coming decades. While such predictions are speculative, they underscore growing interest in BTC as a long-term store of value.
One official reportedly responded positively to the group’s call for stronger Bitcoin education, signaling potential alignment on the issue.
Meanwhile, Crypto Tax Pressure Builds
Despite these forward-looking conversations, the Indonesian government recently doubled down on taxation. Crypto traders using local platforms now face a 0.21% income tax—up from 0.1%—while foreign exchange users are taxed at 1%, up from 0.2%. Crypto mining activities were also hit, with VAT rising from 1.1% to 2.2%.
Although crypto trading is legal, the use of digital assets for payments remains banned, a rule reaffirmed last year. However, enforcement appears inconsistent. In places like Bali, crypto continues to appear in real estate listings and tourist transactions, despite the prohibition.
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Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
