Bank of Indonesia (BI) is scheduled to launch a digital rupiah CBDC, which they call a “national stablecoin version” tied to government bonds. Now this has sparked widespread alarm among investors and crypto watchers for obvious reasons.
This tokenized government bond-backed digital security, which is being positioned as a companion to the digital rupiah, risks destabilizing Indonesia’s already fragile monetary system.
Kyrgyzstan also announced the launching of a CBDC earlier this week and came under fire for the same reasons.
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Indonesia’s Digital Rupiah Nightmare
This alarming move was announced by BI Governor Perry Warjiyo at the Indonesia Digital Finance and Economy Festival and Fintech Summit 2025 in Jakarta.
The proposed CBDC promises central bank securities built directly on the digital rupiah. Except they are tokenized versions of government bonds (SBN).
Perry Warjiyo calls them “the digital rupiah with underlying SBN, Indonesia’s national version of a stablecoin.”
However, financial analysts and critics fear this move could in fact blur the lines between centralized control and decentralized finance. They feel this would make people lose faith in the digital currency altogether.
The digital rupiah is already under heavy scrutiny owing to slow adoption rates and other technical hurdles. The new CBDC would further overshadow the digital currency.
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While Warjiyo’s vision integrates these digital securities into BI’s broader strategy, many are skeptical it could exacerbate volatility in an economy grappling with crypto’s wild swings.
“We will issue Bank Indonesia securities in digital form,” Warjiyo said.
While the Indonesian government frames the digital rupiah-backed asset as a stable alternative, it is important to remember that stablecoins are unregulated as legal tender in Indonesia.
Indonesia’s OJK Adding Fuel to Fire
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) is tightening its grip on existing stablecoins without granting them official status.
Dino Milano Siregar, head of OJK’s crypto and digital asset division, admitted enforcement of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules and reporting for traders, but highlighted their unofficial role in hedging.
“These assets are tradable and far less volatile than other cryptocurrencies,” Siregar said.
The irony is that while private stablecoins operate in a gray zone, BI’s digital rupiah-linked version gets full government backing.
This development casts a dark shadow over Indonesia’s push to weave blockchain into its monetary framework, unfortunately.
