Intelligence Brief: Effective August 1, 2025, Indonesia revised its crypto tax regime: higher seller taxes (especially for offshore venues), a reworked VAT treatment, and a clearer compliance wedge that nudges volume toward licensed onshore exchanges. The signal is not “anti-crypto.” It’s state capture: bring trading onshore, price in supervision, and reduce leakage through unauthorized platforms.
01. The New Wedge: Onshore vs Offshore
The rate structure is now designed to shape behavior. Domestic exchanges become the default. Offshore venues become expensive—especially for frequent traders.
| Transaction | Before | After (Aug 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Sell (onshore exchange) | 0.10% | 0.21% |
| Sell (offshore platform) | 0.20% | 1.00% |
| Buy (VAT) | VAT applied | VAT adjusted / removed in parts |
02. Mining and the “Professionalization” Layer
The revised framework also touches crypto mining and VAT treatment—another sign that crypto is being normalized into the tax code like any other financial activity: rates, exemptions, and compliance.
Why it matters
Tax design is regulation by another name. Once crypto sits inside stable tax rails, institutional participants can forecast costs, model returns, and build compliant products (custody, tokenization, structured products).
03. Startup Implication: Compliance Moats Expand
A higher onshore tax rate is not necessarily bearish. It’s a price for legitimacy. For licensed exchanges and compliant brokers, the regime increases the gap between “legal rails” and “grey rails.”
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Exchange Unit Economics Shift Higher taxes alter churn, spread sensitivity, and margin structure. Expect incentives for longer holding periods and “earn” products—subject to OJK gates.
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Onshore Volume Gravity The offshore penalty is a behavioral tool. Over time, it can pull liquidity into licensed venues—improving price discovery, surveillance, and institutional confidence.
Analyst Outlook
"Indonesia is not banning crypto—it’s pricing it into state systems. The offshore tax wedge is the tell: policy wants compliant, supervised liquidity at home. For founders, the opportunity is building ‘audit-grade’ crypto rails: reporting, reconciliation, and custody-grade operations that make institutional participation inevitable."