Indonesia is considering adding bitcoin to its national reserves, joining a growing list of countries modernizing their financial strategies with the scarce digital asset.
Recently, Bitcoin Indonesia, the country’s largest Bitcoin advocacy group, met with top officials from the Vice President’s office, including representatives of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to present a detailed proposal on how Bitcoin could support Indonesia’s long-term economic goals.
“We were invited to the Vice President’s office to present how Bitcoin could benefit the country,” Bitcoin Indonesia wrote on X. “We explored a bold idea: Using Bitcoin mining as a national reserve strategy.”
Indonesia currently holds gold, U.S. dollars, and sovereign bonds in its foreign reserves which recently reached around $153 billion. The proposal is to add bitcoin to that mix, either by buying it directly or by mining it using the country’s abundant renewable energy.
Bitcoin Indonesia’s plan is to tap into geothermal and hydroelectric power – both already part of Indonesia’s energy infrastructure – to mine bitcoin sustainably.
This, they say, could create jobs, strengthen energy independence and build a bitcoin reserve without buying it from the market.
“(Indonesia) is looking into how Bitcoin could fuel long-term economic strength,” said the group. Officials showed interest but emphasized the need for education before large scale implementation.
“Indonesia must also continue to educate about Bitcoin in the future,” a government official told the group.
A big part of the discussion was about public understanding of Bitcoin. Bitcoin Indonesia proposed to launch education programs across schools, universities and local communities to educate people about digital assets, both the opportunities and the risks.
They said public understanding is key to widespread adoption of the technology. They also shared reading materials like The Bitcoin Standard and Ray Dalio’s The Changing World Order with government officials to build a foundation for further discussion.
An attention grabbing part of their presentation was a long-term price forecast from Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, predicting bitcoin could reach $13 million by 2045 in a base case or $49 million in a bull case.
They linked the 2045 projection to Indonesia’s 100th independence anniversary making it a symbolic long-term goal for the country. Indonesia is not alone in seeking bitcoin reserves.
In similar news, Brazil is having a public hearing this August to decide if they can allocate up to 5% of their national treasury to bitcoin.
Indonesia is looking to follow in Bhutan’s footsteps — the tiny South Asian nation has quietly mined over 11,000 BTC since 2020.
Despite the enthusiasm, Indonesia’s Bitcoin environment is still very controlled. While trading digital assets is legal, using them as payment is banned and the government has warned tourists not to make purchases with digital assets like bitcoin.
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