[2018-01-20] The Indonesian Gov. is Cracking Down Further on Bitcoin Use in Bali

[FollowSynergy]

Retailers in Bali are being forced to stop accepting bitcoin at their shops and restaurants.

The actions of governments and regulatory authorities in Asia have been a hot topic in the cryptocurrency space over the last few weeks. The recent crash is widely seen as being driven by reports that the South Korean government indicating it is set to crackdown on cryptocurrency usage. A similar concern is hanging over the already heavily regulated Chinese market right now, rooted in potential government actions to limit access to international exchanges for users within its borders.

BALI A HIVE OF BITCOIN ACTIVITY?

But it doesn’t stop there.

The latest news out of Asia is that Indonesian authorities are looking to investigate bitcoin-associated activity in Bali, one of Southeast Asia’s most popular tourist destinations and – if the reports are to be believed and the concern’s of the Indonesian government validated – a hive of bitcoin-related activity.

Here’s what Iman Karana, head of Bank Indonesia’s representative office in Bali, had to say on the development:

"We found out from some postings on social media that Bali appeared to have become a haven for bitcoin transactions."

Using bitcoin as a point of sale transaction token in Bali is illegal, as per regulatory action taken by policymakers in the region back in December 2017. Shortly after the regulatory action was put in place, however, police on the island went undercover to investigate reports of businesses still accepting bitcoin as a payment method.

The results of this undercover operation led to only two businesses being uncovered as still accepting bitcoin, with a further 44 (with operations ranging from car rental to jewelry and more) having just recently stopped.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Karana went on to say this in response to the undercover operation:

"The next step is we will ban them as mandated by the law. We ask them not to use it anymore. Along with the Directorate of Special Crime Investigation unit, we will enforce the rule that all transactions in Indonesia must use rupiah."

How this will play out longer term remains to be seen. The viability of bitcoin as a point of sale asset has come under scrutiny of late as scaling issues have resulted in longer transaction times and higher fees. With developments such as Lightning set to change that in the near term, however, retailers and spenders may once again push to be allowed to use BTC or one of its peers to pay for goods and services.

If this happens, Indonesian authorities may have a tougher time enforcing restrictive rules in the region.

http://bitcoinist.com/indonesian-government-cracking-bitcoin-use-bali/

[Kemarit]

What do you expect? They have issued a total ban already, its just a matter of time that the full hands of the law will be implemented. Bali safe haven for bitcoin transaction? Of course, its a tourist spot so I'm sure that a lot of foreigners are using bitcoin to withdraw money then convert it to fiat using localbitcoins. I'm sure that the Indonesian authority will get be very busy looking and unravelling Indonesian's involved in bitcoin. Unfortunately, bitcoin will still thrive in countries in South East Asia, they will always find a way to earn bitcoin underground, away from the prying eyes of the government.

[CryptoBry]

Sadly, the Indonesian government has not considered the connection between Bitcoin and tourism which can be helping their own economy. Such a close-minded approach will not be good for the country. Anyway, when one door closes there will be more windows that can be available soon. I understand that since Indonesia is predominantly a Muslim country it will not be easy to promote the acceptance of cryptocurrency in the country. Many of the big Muslim countries do not have a clear understanding on cryptocurrency consequently they are rejecting it on the basis that it is coming from the West and they must be entertaining the many conspiracy theories surrounding cryptocurrency. Let's hope that one day the government will realize of the immense opportunity that should have been theirs and their citizens had they open their understanding for cryptocurrency. May that day come soon.

[davis196]

Bitcoin payments are used in shops and restaurants across Bali?I don`t believe this.
How come the retailers from all the developed countries refuse to adopt bitcoin payments,but the retailers in some third world country like Indonesia are so progressive and accept btc?
This won`t hit bitcoin and actually i don`t care if bitcoin is going to be accepted in countries like Indonesia that aren`t very democratic and where the majority of the people lives in poverty.

[Slow death]

Bitcoin payments are used in shops and restaurants across Bali?I don`t believe this.
How come the retailers from all the developed countries refuse to adopt bitcoin payments,but the retailers in some third world country like Indonesia are so progressive and accept btc?

good point, as they do not mention which sellers accept bitcoin as a means of payment it is difficult to comment, it would be good if the government said that there are X places that are accepting bitcoin and that they will take X measure against those places.

This won`t hit bitcoin and actually i don`t care if bitcoin is going to be accepted in countries like Indonesia that aren`t very democratic and where the majority of the people lives in poverty.

unfortunately in these countries the poor are the people who are not lucky, the family of the governors are increasingly rich. the opportunities are only for the elites. health and education are of bad quality for the poor and the rich have access to high-quality health and education. the salaries are low, but the people of the government receive salary 100x greater than the minimum salary


We should not care about this news.

[veleten]

I don't think its a coincedence- now its Indonesian goverment crackdown on bitcoin news
regardless of wherever the go through with the promises or not,the timing on the news is perfect
add to this SouthKorea's musing banning all of the operations,China tightening the screws
and many investors and media figures predicting swift demise to bitcoins and calling it "worthless" and so on
this is done to drive the price down so the prophets could buy themselves
and then go on with the positive news on how bitcoin is going to cost xxxxxx.xx$ 2018 or 2020
think only a blind would not notice manipulation of the market here

[Harlot]

Indonesia is one of the latest countries who recently joined in the countries who have negative vies in Bitcoin. Having 46 businesses in Bali alone being stopped because of accepting Bitcoin is really no reasonable I mean they will certainly be converted in Rupiah one way or another. They don't know that this businesses have the power of transparency as they will need to issue receipts to their customers so worrying about being evaded n taxes is really not a possibility.

[richardsNY]

We should not care about this news.

This. If you look at the market, there is no reaction about Indonesia's recent actions against crypto, so indeed, why should people here care? It's not that Indonesia was contributing with growth, so we technically haven't lost anything. That doesn't mean we are not somewhat mad about another government preventing their people and economy from moving forward, but we have to remain realistic and look at the numbers. If the numbers don't give a single damn about it, then people here shouldn't either. These third world countries banning everything related to crypto is their loss. It's basically them preventing their own economy from getting that much needed boost....