Is Indonesia About To Ban Bitcoin?

It has been announced that The Central Bank of Indonesia have issued a warning to investors not to sell, buy or trade any cryptocurrencies due to the bubble risks and the risk that it could be used for ‘money laundering and terrorist financing’. They issued a press release this weekend, and this has resulted in the voluntary closure of two different cryptocurrency exchanges; BitBayar and TokoBitcoin. In the statement, they wrote; “Virtual currencies are vulnerable to bubble risks and susceptible to be used for money laundering and terrorism financing, therefore can potentially impact financial system stability and cause financial harm to society.” There is some confusion over the matter, and to confirm, there is no official ban within the country. This is not the same for Algeria though, as their government have already been taking steps towards completely banning cryptocurrencies. They are working on the 2018 Finance Bill will declare the ownership and trade of Bitcoin illegal. The bill reads; “Any violation of this provision is punished in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.” The document even goes as far as to label Bitcoin a ‘so called virtual currency’, and claims that the cryptocurrency can be used for drug trafficking, money laundering and tax evasion. This is not the same for all counties though – South Korea are embracing the virtual currencies, and is even thinking of introducing an accounting system. The US could also be doing something similar as well, and the Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin stated that regulators are forming a working group who are solely dedicated to virtual currencies. Sponsored by