RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) reported a 25.9 percent year-on-year decline in cryptocurrency transactions in 2025, falling to IDR 482.23 trillion from IDR 650.61 trillion in 2024. In March 2026, transaction value stood at IDR 22.24 trillion, down 8.51 percent month-to-month.

Executive Director of Supervision for Financial Sector Technology Innovation, Digital Financial Assets, and Cryptocurrencies at OJK, Adi Budiarso, said the decline reflects a normal adjustment following the Bitcoin halving in April 2024.

“This is a high-base effect, not a fundamental weakness. The global crypto market cap fell about 45 percent from an all-time high of USD 4.2 trillion in October 2025 to around USD 2.3 trillion in March 2026,” Adi said at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, May 6, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

He explained that market dynamics were also shaped by US monetary tightening, US-China trade tensions, conflict in the Middle East, and security incidents on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Institutional investors, he noted, remain cautious but view the consolidation phase as an entry opportunity.

Adi emphasized that Indonesia offers significant opportunities for institutional investors in digital financial asset innovation. Regulatory frameworks are considered adequate, with mandatory know-your-customer (KYC), know-your-transaction (KYT), customer due diligence (CDD), and enhanced due diligence (EDD) processes in place.

Market infrastructure has also been strengthened through the segregation of functions between fiat and crypto asset management. A whitelist mechanism limits tradable assets to about 1,450 tokens out of millions globally, ensuring market quality.

OJK is further promoting real-world asset (RWA) tokenization as a new opportunity for institutions. Three business models have passed the sandbox phase, and regulations are being prepared to accelerate implementation.

“In the future, we expect crypto assets to not only serve as investment alternatives, but also integrate with products and services in other sectors, such as retirement funds, to enhance their impact on national economic growth and the financial well-being of the wider public,” Adi said. ***