The state of crypto currency in Indonesia
Indonesia is one of the few countries with a large unbanked population with technology available to use for banking. The most recent estimate shows 51% of adults in Indonesia are still unbanked, a decrease from the massive 80% that were unbanked back in 2011. Distance is the most common reason given, yet 69% of the 60 million unbanked in Indonesia claim that they do own a cell phone.
Since the government now blocks pre-paid SIM cards for cell phones, requiring citizens to “register” cell phones with their resident identity card (KTP), it should come as no surprise that Indonesian’s aren’t following the central banks warnings over crypto currencies. There haven’t been pretests for bitcoin like the cell phone protests but the government hasn’t “cracked down” on bitcoin (yet) like they have with cellular registration.
After Indonesia’s Identification scandal cost Indonesians over $170 million, the requirement to register a cell phone to identification (even after their President had publicly been spied on by Australia) and document bitcoin and altcoin purchases for that government, might not be the first thing on Indonesians minds.
Indonesian rupiah isn’t always easy to buy bitcoin with, buying bitcoin anonymously will become increasingly difficult as the police investigate islands like Bali for people using bitcoin over Rupiah now.
Buying Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoins in Indonesia
With the rupiah (IDR) reaching record lows, Indonesia’s centralized bank will be keeping a close eye on Indonesian bitcoin and altcoin purchases. Indodax, the largest bitcoin exchange in Indonesia has over 1 million customers buying bitcoin in Indonesia.
The passport requirement for Indodax and the other large exchange Luno have made anonymous exchanges increasingly popular for Indonesians looking to buy bitcoin and trade altcoins. Rupiah is still the offered widely though for Domino QQ and Capsa Susun online, as mentioned in the Indonesia Gambling Guide.
The Best Crypto Currency Exchanges in Indonesia currently are:
| Indonesia Crypto Exchanges | Known For | Popular in | KYC | Currencies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Large Global Exchange | Latin America, Europe, UK, China, Russia | Yes | BTC, ETH, Alts | Continue |
 | P2P Trading | Global | No | BTC, ETH, Alts | Continue |
 | Large Global Exchange | Asia | Yes | USD, IDR, SGD, MYR, BTC, ETH | Continue |
 | No KYC, Low Trading Fee's | Global | Under 2 BTC No | BTC, ETH, Alts | Continue |
 | Exchange / P2P Marketplace | Africa, UK, Europe, Asia | Yes | ZAR, GBP, EUR, CAD | Continue |
 | Credit Card / Exchange | Everywhere except USA | Yes | EUR, USD, GBP | Continue |
 | Anonymous Purchases | Global | No | BTC, ETH, Alts | Continue |
 | Large Global Exchange | Asia | Yes | All National Currencies, BTC, Alts | Continue |
 | Decentralized Anonymous Exchange | Global | No | BTC, ETH, Alts | Continue |
 | Credit Card / Exchange | America's, Europe, Asia | Yes | GBP, USD, EUR, BTC, ETH, Alts | Continue |
 | Large Global Exchange | Latin America, Europe, UK | Yes | BTC, ETH, Alts | Continue |
Anonymous Exchanges
Of the anonymous exchanges we cover available to people in Indonesia, the easiest options appear to be bisq, CoinMama and Openbazaar. The last being closer to Ebay than a bitcoin exchange, however all items are bought and sold for bitcoin.
Indomaret
The rumored Indomaret bitcoin purchases being available, forced the owners of Indomaret (a popular convenience store, some pay their bills at) to publish a statement in 2014 denying the media headlines that claimed Indomaret would be selling bitcoin to it’s customers soon
Alfamart
Alfamart will however sell bitcoin using the Doku wallet on iPhone or Android apps for purchases. The Doku wallet is a payment gateway for customers to pay retailers, banks, bills and buy bitcoin. Again, this method would be monitored and shared with the Bank of Indonesia and many customers of their banks don’t trust the rupiah currently.
Bitcoin ATM in Indonesia
The bitcoin ATM in Bali, owned by Indodax is probably going to want your passport (or KTP) before allowing anyone to buy bitcoin. The machine only sells bitcoin, no trading bitcoin for rupiah. No other ATM appears to be available for Jakarta or other areas of Indonesia.
For information on casino, poker and sports betting online from Indonesia, see our Indonesia Gambling Guide.
Crypto Gambling has information on bitcoin, altcoins and trading crypto currencies along with bitcoin poker, casino and sports betting sites available worldwide.