What’s next for Ajaib and peers as SEA’s trading frenzy fizzles out?

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Hello there,

Like pretty much everyone my age, I downloaded apps like Ajaib and Indodax amid the pandemic. I knew a few people who’d survived layoffs by trading stocks and crypto – and I didn’t think I’d mind becoming an accidental millionaire.

But alas, my experience with these apps lasted only three months.

The major issues for me were my short attention span (I struggle to check these apps regularly) and my general aversion to risk. I didn’t want to put too much money into these apps, and that meant my gains were small – too small to excite the lizard part of my brain.

Unlike me, many of my friends continue using these apps even today. In the US, stockbroking app Robinhood saw painful layoffs, a fall in revenue, and a decline in active users after two years of meteoric growth driven by the pandemic. Now the question is whether Southeast Asia’s players in the space – Ajaib, Pluang, Bibit, and others – meet a similar fate?

My colleague, Budi, aims to answer that question in our first Big Story this week. In our second, our blockchain reporter, Scott, looks at crypto projects that may be in deep trouble amid the so-called crypto winter.

Meanwhile, Blackpink’s Lisa is among the many Korean stars who grace billboards across Jakarta, but instead of endorsing Shopee and other ecommerce players, she’s become the face of stock-trading unicorn Ajaib. In this week’s Hot Take, I examine how Indonesia’s fintech players spent a whopping US$460 million on ads in 2021.

– Putra

THE BIG STORIES

Image credit: Timmy Loen

1️⃣ Indonesia’s Robinhoods face biggest test as market slows: retaining users
Onboarding first-time retail investors and diversifying their products could be the answer.

2️⃣ A who’s who of projects facing frostbite in the crypto winter
Here’s a list of companies and projects that have been hit the worst by the crypto winter.

THE HOT TAKE

Indonesia’s fintech startups indulge in big-budget advertising

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

FYI