The Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Pintu has gained $6 million in its Series A funding.
Pantera Capital, self-described as the first United States institutional asset manager focused exclusively on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, led the investment. Coinbase Ventures and Intudo Ventures, an independent venture capital firm that invests only in Indonesia-based companies, joined them.
Blockchain.com Ventures, Castle Island Ventures and Alameda Ventures also participated in the investment round.
As an exchange, Pintu specializes in first-time crypto investors. One of its projects is the Pintu Academy, which helps new traders to learn more about cryptocurrency upon starting out. Reports indicate that the company will use the multimillion dollar investment towards product development, marketing, and recruitment.
Former bitcoin (BTC) incubator employee Jeth Soetoyo founded Pintu in 2020. The CEO was previously behind PT Rupiah Token Indonesia, a blockchain technology startup based in Jakarta. Here, Soetoyo developed the stablecoin Rupiah Token (IDRT). Based on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, IDRT’s price was tethered to that of the official Indonesian rupiah.
The crypto climate in Indonesia
This May has been eventful for Indonesia’s crypto space. On May 25, reports stated the country was getting in on the CBDC act, joining the likes of Japan, South Korea, and China in doing so. They, in turn, form part of the 85% of the world’s central banks actively researching CBDCs.
The Bank for International Settlement’s research into this matter concluded that 60% of those central banks are testing technology to create CBDCs. 14% have already moved into alpha testing. Amid all this, Bank Indonesia revealed they intend to make creating the digital rupiah one of their main priorities.
Earlier in the month, the Indonesian government announced its considerations towards a tax on cryptocurrency trades. The country once ranked in the top three for crypto ownership, a status it has since lost. However, tax officials in Indonesia believe it is in the middle of a digital asset boom. Despite this, the ban on cryptocurrencies as a form of payment is still in place.
The government is yet to make a final decision on that score. However, the final proposed tax would amount to 0.05%, according to reports. Only half as much as the tax applied to investors on the Indonesian Stock Exchange.