BANDUNG, unpas.ac.id – In the last two years, cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular in Indonesia and internationally. Crypto is a digital or virtual currency guaranteed by cryptography.
It makes crypto almost impossible to be faked or duplicated. Some of the cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Litecoin, Peercoin, Namecoin, Ethereum, and so on. Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia is also currently formulating a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Later, the CBDC created by BI will be named after ‘digital rupiah’.
BI said that the initiation of the issuance of digital rupiah was not due to the development of cryptocurrencies which have recently attracted millions of crypto asset investors, but to a mutual agreement between central banks around the world.
CDBC is not the same as crypto. Circulation of CBDC will be controlled by the central bank and can be used as legal tender to replace currency.
Responding to the potential of both digital currency and cryptocurrency on economic flow, the teacher and Secretary of Management Study Program, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Universitas Pasundan, Ardi Gunardi, SE., M.Si., CSRS., CSRA said that both of them emerged along with the demands of digitalization era.
“This change is not only in terms of currency at all, but in almost all aspects. This is what often causes resistance from the community, although it will definitely be accepted over time,” he said in Unpas Talk podcast episode 12, on Friday, 28 January 2022.
Ardi assessed that resistance actually makes people learn the mechanisms, benefits, disadvantages and risks as well. Thus, when digital currency emerged, people have already understood the instruments on it entirely.
Digital currencies do not fully guarantee the security of transactions or storages, nor do the conventional ones. However, both digital and conventional currency must be kept confidential.
“Compared to the conventional currency, claiming the lost digital assets is rather difficult. Because the government regulation regarding digital currency have not been properly socialized; so, it would affect to the product knowledge of the community,” he explained.
According to Ardi, the skyrocketing popularity of cryptocurrencies can be seen from two things. First, public awareness to switch to the digital aspect. Second, it relates to human psychology.
“People usually have tendencies to improve their status or trends. There are those who do crypto because they really understand it, meanwhile the other ones do that just for completing their lifestyle,” he said.
Cryptocurrency has its own characteristics, namely the fact that its distribution is recorded by using cryptography for guarantees, not issued by the competent authority, and there is no agreement or contract between the holder and other parties.
Based on these characteristics, crypto is not a financial instrument because it does not meet the criteria as a financial asset.
“However, crypto meets the definition of an intangible asset, that is, an identifiable non-monetary asset without a physical form. Crypto can also be separated from its owner and traded or transferred individually,” he concluded. (Reta)*
