Indodax CEO Oscar Darmawan Optimistic the Popularity of Crypto Assets to Increase Again

In December 2017, the price of the Bitcoin crypto asset hit a record high of US$17.549 per coin. These fluctuations make cryptocurrencies (cryptocurrencies) become a hot topic in various forums. Along with its development, various groups of people have made it an investment option.

Seeing the increasing market interest, various new coins are continuously introduced to the public, including through initiatives ICO fundraising (Initial Coin Offering) for a project. In Indonesia, there are several startups that are participating, such as Playgame (with PXG coins).

At the end of 2018, the value of Bitcoin fell sharply at US $ 3.625, and continued to fluctuate until on January 13, 2020 the value was recorded at US $ 8.740. Discussions among the public about crypto assets also tend to obey -- in the midst of the development of other investment platforms such as mutual funds, stocks, to gold.

To learn more about the development of crypto assets in Indonesia, DailySocial chat with Indodax Founder & CEO Oscar Darmawan. The start-up company formerly named Bitcoin.co.id it is one of the pioneers of crypto asset trading platform. Currently they have around 1,8 million users with dozens of types of crypto assets being traded.

Acknowledge a drop in interest

Starting the conversation, Oscar presented data on the trading volume of world crypto assets from year to year. There was a significant decline throughout 2019, especially when compared to the peak of popularity in 2017. However, its capitalization value is still considered to have the highest performance compared to other investment assets.

Oscar is still very optimistic that crypto assets will return to their popularity. There are several reasons, one of which is the impact of global dynamics that began to occur in 2020. Bitcoin as a investment assets classified "safe haven" (tends to be safer to own) is considered to be of interest to more people, because commodities are not directly connected to the global economy, their fluctuations are more controlled in the midst of conflict.

"By not connecting Bitcoin with the world economic system, making it a safe asset and able to continue to increase despite the crisis. For example, in the midst of the conflict between the United States and Iran, it has a positive effect on the value of Bitcoin. Currently the price of Bitcoin in Iran rose to $25.000. This is similar to the feud between the United States and North Korea last year which also pushed up the price of Bitcoin," explained Oscar.

In addition, other factors, according to Oscar, are the presence of monetary easing policies by some central banks in an effort to alleviate the China-US trade war and the reduced supply of Bitcoin due to "Halving Day 2020" which will increase demand.

As is known, the circulation of crypto assets such as Bitcoin has a limit to a certain value point. Unlike conventional currencies that can be added to print every year.

Developments in Indonesia

President Joko Widodo in an opportunity said that young people are encouraged to know global technology trends, including crypto assets such as Bitcoin. The statement was greeted optimistically by related industry players such as Indodax.

Through the association, communication with the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (CoFTRA) is continuously encouraged. One of them spawned regulation no. 5 of 2019 concerning technical provisions for the implementation of the physical market for crypto assets on futures exchanges. This rule was signed on February 8, 2019.

The existence of regulatory regulations, both in terms of commodities and industry, makes the future of crypto asset trading brighter. The legal umbrella has an impact on public confidence, while reducing the risk of business fraud that may occur in the middle of the market education process.

"We at Indodax will continue to work with CoFTRA to create a positive ecosystem and industry in Indonesia. Earlier this year we hoped to get an official permit from CoFTRA (as the platform organizer)," said Oscar.

Blockchain project and industrial elimination

Blockchain as a fundamental technology that produces cryptocurrency products is increasingly being explored by companies to support a more transparent system. In fact, many government agencies in the world are starting to explore blockchain implementation research in the public sector.

According to Oscar, from 2016 to 2017 there were not many companies that needed blockchain. Most of them have just been used for ICO purposes. However, entering 2018 to early 2020, many blockchain projects have good credibility and are relevant. On the other hand, he also sees that investors are now more mature so they are more skeptical of rumors or slanted news circulating without foundation.

Until now the most popular tokens are still few in number. Brands like Ethereum and Bitcoin are still top choices. But in the last two years many players like startups have released their own tokens.

The fact is that it is not easy to manage a token, so over the last two years many tokens whose function is not clear have begun to be eliminated. The effect of the elimination finally made some of the token players to then merge and establish a new entity.

According to Oscar, such a step is legitimate to take, because in the end to be able to enlarge this industry, an ecosystem must be created and all the players involved cannot run a business independently.