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Jofie Yordan · · 5 min readAfter riding the wave, Indonesia’s crypto space braces for impact
Indonesia’s crypto market had a breakout year in 2024, with the total value of transactions rising 335% year on year to 650.6 trillion rupiah (US$38.6 billion).
Tokocrypto, a local exchange platform owned by Binance, held the largest market share last year with 25% of trading volume, reaching US$9.5 billion. Its main rival, Indodax, followed in second place with 20.5% and a value of US$7.9 billion.
Calvin Kizana, CEO of Tokocrypto / Photo credit: Tokocrypto
However, Indonesian crypto exchanges that spoke to Tech in Asia say they are now crafting strategies to maintain or pursue profitability amid increasing market volatility and uncertainty in 2025. While they remain confident about the market’s potential, the road ahead will be challenging.
Even though bitcoin prices are around US$85,000 as of April 15, that’s a sharp drop from the all-time high of US$100,000 at the end of 2024.
Higher taxes, shifting regulations, geopolitical tensions, and mounting concerns about US President Donald Trump’s trade war are all headwinds for the sector.
Focus on impact and awareness
Tokocrypto says it achieved net profitability in 2024 and claims to be the first Indonesian crypto exchange to do so.
While Tech in Asia was not able to confirm this, none of the other licensed crypto exchanges have claimed this achievement. Indodax did not respond to our request for a comment.
Tokocrypto CEO Calvin Kizana attributes this success to “wise” spending decisions that prioritized impactful local and global projects.
“We list tokens from projects that we see have strong potential, and the impact is that trading volume goes up,” Kizana tells Tech in Asia, noting that the firm has its own research team to review which tokens to list.
While bitcoin’s price has pulled back from its all-time high, Kizana says Tokocrypto remains focused on profitability and plans to launch a banking-as-a-service offering this year.
“Market sentiment isn’t as bullish as we hoped,” he says. “But I believe this is only temporary.”
In January, Bernstein, a private wealth management firm, predicted that crypto would enter its “Infinity Age” in 2025, with bitcoin reaching US$200,000.
Standouts in a crowded market
Shifting regulations
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Local exchanges like Tokocrypto achieved net profit last year, but the industry now faces headwinds.
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