Indonesia Tightens the Screws: Crypto Tax Hike on Overseas Trades Kicks In August 1

Brace for impact—Jakarta just turned up the heat on crypto traders.

Starting tomorrow, Indonesia slaps higher taxes on offshore digital asset transactions, squeezing margins for traders dodging local exchanges. No warning shots fired—just a fiscal ambush timed for Q3.

Why this hurts: The archipelago’s crypto scene already battles thin liquidity. Now add a tax grab that’ll either push volume underground or vaporize it entirely. Classic bureaucratic play—strangle the golden goose while pretending to ‘regulate.’

Silver lining? At least they didn’t ban it outright like some neighbors. Small mercies for a market that survives on regulatory crumbs.

• Domestic crypto tax rises to 0.21%; overseas trades face 1%.
• VAT removed for buyers; crypto mining VAT is now 2.2%.
• Crypto is reclassified as a financial asset, not a commodity, under the new regulation.

Starting August 1, Indonesia will enforce stricter tax rules on cryptocurrency transactions, targeting both domestic and international trading platforms.

A new regulation issued by the Ministry of Finance outlines higher tax rates, with overseas crypto trades subject to steeper fees than those conducted within the country.

According to the new structure, the sellers of digital assets through local exchanges will now pay 0.21% in tax per transaction, twice the 0.1% they used to pay earlier.

Sellers through overseas exchanges will now pay 1% in tax, down from 0.2% earlier. In a MOVE towards simplifying the system, value-added tax (VAT) will not be collected from the purchaser anymore. Instead, it will be collected earlier at a rate of 0.11% to 0.22%.

Crypto Mining Faces Higher VAT, Shift in Tax Structure

Cryptocurrency mining operations will also be impacted. The value-added tax on mining operations will increase to 2.2% from 1.1%.

In addition, the special 0.1% mining profits tax will be removed in 2026. Afterward, such profits will be subject to regular personal or corporate income tax rates. The regulatory overhaul comes amid growing digital asset adoption in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

In 2024, the value of digital currency transactions tripled year-over-year to 650 trillion rupiah (nearly $39.67 billion), with over 20 million registered users, surpassing the number of stock market investors in the country.

Industry Responds to Regulatory Shift

The local Bitcoin exchange, driven by Binance, welcomed the regulatory announcement, commenting that the move is due to the evolving stance of Indonesia in regulating virtual coins as financial products, not commodities.

The company, however, seems to have requested a minimum of a one-month grace period for the required adjustment of the business operations.

Tokocrypto also urged increased control of digital asset transactions that are done using non-domestic exchanges, and for tax relief in support of innovation.

The exchange further said the new rates of digital asset tax are greater than those of stock capital gains, warning that this will make the market less competitive.

These moves represent a turning point in the history of digital asset regulation in Indonesia, joining the trend towards formalization and regulation of the digital assets economy in response to explosive growth and rising inter-border transaction activities.