Following the launch of its government-backed crypto exchange, the Southeast Asian country Indonesia is becoming a budding crypto hub aiming to be one of the leaders in Web3 technology, according to Indonesian blockchain executives and metaverse.
At the recent Blockchain Economy Summit in Dubai, Cointelegraph spoke with Grace Sabandar, co-founder of the Indonesia Blockchain and Metaverse Center (IBMC), and Tuhu Nugraha, director of the Indonesia Applied Digital Economy and Regulatory Network (IADERN). The executives discussed the state of digital assets, blockchain, and metaverse adoption in Indonesia.
According to Sabandar, the country’s youth represent a large percentage of its population of 270 million, which is a demographic that adapts to new technologies. The executive also noted that because of this, the country has been one of the largest user bases in the world when it comes to Web2 social media apps like Facebook and Instagram.
Because of this, Sabandar told Cointelegraph that the country is ready to be one of the leaders in Web3 adoption. “We want to be leaders, not just users of technology, because now, because of decentralization, anyone can do something, anyone can create something,” he said.
Sabandar also highlighted that the IBMC has been working with various sectors, including the government, private sector communities, media and academia, to educate the country about Web3. She explained:
“That’s our task, actually. Really educate people about the benefits of using blockchain, about transparency, how smart contracts can benefit their businesses, what decentralization is and things like that.”
Meanwhile, Nugraha, who works as an advisor to the Indonesian government regarding its research on blockchain and metaverse technologies, said the government’s approach to Web3 technology is very collaborative.
The executive told Cointelegraph in an interview that the Indonesian government is working with several blockchain-focused associations to learn and conduct experiments on blockchain technology to understand its implications in various sectors. “They want regulation to stimulate innovation rather than just wanting to give you a bunch of rules,” he explained.
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Nugraha also revealed that the Indonesian government plans to conduct tests on the application of blockchain technology in public service use cases. According to the executive, the government will test the use of blockchain-based digital certificates for land ownership and competency certificates for the education sector.
He believes that, with the inherent features of blockchain, implementing the technology in certificates can potentially combat certificate fraud and help the government verify the authenticity of various types of digital certificates using on-chain data.
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