Kenneth Yeung looks at the risky lure of cryptocurrency.
With the Indonesian economy taking a battering this year, cryptocurrencies priced in US dollars are attractive to some Indonesians looking to protect their wealth or get rich quickly. Unfortunately, digital currencies are also a magnet for scammers.
As the rupiah sank to an all-time low of 18,209 against the US dollar in June 2026, some crypto platforms were quick to promise “guaranteed USD returns” and “passive income” to “protect your savings from inflation.”
Crypto is legal in Indonesia as an investment product but not as a currency. This means that while you can buy, hold, and sell approved crypto assets, they cannot be used to pay for goods or services.
Trading in crypto is permitted through Indonesian platforms licensed by the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan or OJK), which has listed more than 1,200 approved crypto assets as of 2026.
Indonesia’s huge population of social media users is a prime target for both legitimate investment platforms and online scammers. While a licensed crypto product may lose value, a fake exchange promising “guaranteed profits” or demanding deposits to “unlock withdrawals” will likely wipe out your entire investment.
In addition to Bitcoin, there are also thousands of so-called “altcoins” (non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies), “meme coins” (often inspired by pop culture), and “tokens” (digital assets built on existing blockchains). Some are legitimate products, but others have little value and depend entirely on social media hype, celebrity endorsements, or influencer campaigns to attract buyers.
Hype can be engineered to fuel ‘pump-and-dump’ schemes, where promoters artificially inflate a token’s price through coordinated online marketing and trading, before selling their own holdings, leaving later investors with losses when prices inevitably collapse.
Davey Jones, a Jakarta-based blockchain and crypto consultant from the UK, says Indonesia’s crypto market contains some deliberately fraudulent offerings. However, he warns that even many legitimate crypto assets have limited lifespans, making them inherently risky investments.
“The vast majority of tokens operate on hype cycles,” he says. “Once the narrative shifts and trading volume dries up, most projects never recover their previous highs.”
Jones says Bitcoin is the strongest long-term crypto investment because of its maturity and widespread adoption. Ethereum, Solana, and other established blockchain platforms may also suit medium-term investors, but beyond those, he says, the risk increases sharply. Newer or lesser-known tokens may deliver massive short-term gains, but they are also far more likely to fail.
The Crypto King
Indonesia has experienced numerous cases of tokens that spiked in value when promoted by celebrities but subsequently plummeted by 90% or more. Not all failed crypto ventures were malicious scams; some simply lacked regulatory approval or could not perform beyond the hype.
An ongoing police investigation involves financial influencer Timothy Ronald, known as the “Indonesian Crypto King”. In 2023, he launched the Akademi Crypto platform, which charged high membership fees for trading tips that promoted volatile tokens, allegedly causing investors to suffer over Rp200 billion in losses when the assets fell by 90%.
In 2025, the Jakarta Police arrested an Indonesian and a Malaysian on suspicion of operating a fictitious trading platform that used AI deepfake mentors to sell fake crypto assets and stocks. Victims lost a combined Rp18.3 billion. The two suspects are yet to face trial as police continue to track the funds.
Influencers sometimes end up behind bars. In 2022, self-styled “crazy rich” social media influencer Indra Kenz, a singer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined Rp5 billion for online fraud, spreading false trading news, and money laundering. He had conducted marketing for Binomo, an illegal gambling scheme disguised as an investment app, where brokers manipulated results, causing users to lose over Rp100 billion.
Many other platforms have been shut down for operating Ponzi-style schemes where crypto investors were pushed to recruit new members in order to receive returns.
Some crypto operators seek religious endorsement for their products—potentially putting themselves at risk of being scammed. In one case, a company allegedly lost Rp1.8 billion after being offered a halal fatwa, purportedly from the Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia or MUI), for its crypto product. Police are now investigating the matter.
Despite the risks of losses and scams, Indonesia’s appetite for crypto remains strong, though recent tax changes have cooled active trading. The country had over 20 million registered crypto users and transaction values exceeding Rp650 trillion (US$36 billion) in 2024. However, a higher transaction tax for local sellers and a new penalty tax on unregistered foreign platforms saw 2025 trading volumes decline 25.9% to Rp482.23 trillion.
The promise of easy money from crypto will continue to attract four main groups in Indonesia: investors chasing money, influencers chasing commissions, scammers chasing cash, and tax officials chasing revenue.