Indonesian Crypto Law Revision Triggers Industry-Wide Layoff and Shutdown Alarms
Proposed legislative changes in Indonesia could centralize all crypto trading, threatening the survival of dozens of local exchanges and sparking fears of massive job losses.
Furedata - Indonesia's financial sector is undergoing a significant transformation with the revised P2SK law. This legislation places crypto assets under the direct supervision of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) for the first time, establishing a new regulatory framework for the entire digital asset industry.
A critical provision within the draft, Pasal 215A, mandates that all digital asset transactions must be conducted through, or at a minimum reported to, a single designated exchange. This rule effectively outlaws trading practices that are not registered with the central body.
The legislation enforces compliance with severe penalties, including prison sentences of up to ten years and fines reaching Rp1 trillion. A two-year transitional period is granted for the official exchange to consolidate and manage all national cryptocurrency trading activities before the rules fully apply.
This potential centralization has alarmed industry leaders. As detailed by Coinvestasi (December 4, 2025), Indodax's CEO warned that eliminating the core function of existing traders would force a complete business model overhaul, significantly jeopardizing company stability and revenue after over a decade of operation.
The operational shift threatens widespread workforce reductions across the sector. Executives from multiple firms, including Triv, anticipate a wave of layoffs as local exchanges could lose their primary role of managing trading systems, rendering their current operational structures obsolete and unsustainable.
Beyond job losses, experts highlight severe systemic risks. Consolidating trade into one entity creates a single point of failure, diminishes arbitrage opportunities for investors, and may ultimately drive users toward unregulated international platforms, undermining the local ecosystem of 25 licensed exchanges.
In response, figures like Tokocrypto's CEO are advocating for open dialogue. They emphasize the need for a regulatory balance that strengthens the financial sector without stifling the innovation and growth of the local crypto businesses that have pioneered the industry in Indonesia.