Indonesia tightens rules for crypto influencers: certification and content control
Indonesia's financial regulator is introducing mandatory certification for influencers promoting cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets. From now on, any blogger or opinion leader recommending digital assets to their audience must obtain a competency certificate. This step is aimed at increasing accountability for content in a field where misinformation can lead to serious financial losses.
The key innovation is that advertising is only permitted for assets that are allowed for trading on authorized, licensed exchanges. Campaigns must be conducted strictly through official channels of licensed financial companies. Thus, the regulator seeks to weed out unscrupulous promoters who previously could advertise dubious tokens or projects without verification.
This decision is part of a global trend toward regulating crypto advertising. Previously, similar measures were introduced by regulators in the UK and the UAE. Indonesia, being a large market with high retail investor activity, is betting on transparency: without a certificate, an influencer risks not only their reputation but also facing administrative liability.
My analysis: This step should be seen as a positive signal for institutional players who need clear rules of the game. However, for small crypto enthusiasts and independent analysts, it creates a barrier to entry—obtaining a certificate will require time and resources, which could reduce the diversity of opinions in the information space. In the long term, the market will benefit from filtering out unreliable recommendations, but in the short term, we will see a temporary decline in influencer activity.