Indonesia has introduced hefty new rules to regulate futures trading of crypto assets in the country, amongst which requires entities facilitating crypto asset transactions to hold a minimum paid-up capital of Rp 1 trillion ($70.9 million).

The Trade Ministry’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) was reported by leading Indonesian newspaper Jakarta Post (Feb 14) as additionally requiring crypto asset traders to possess a balance of Rp 100 billion ($7.1 million) in their accounts, of which Rp 80 billion ($5.7 million) is to be maintained as a minimum deposit.

Bappebti also issued other related regulations for the industry aimed at fostering good governance and consumer protection. For example, trading firms are required to provide client support, have minimally one certified security expert, maintain transaction records for at least five years, and possess a server within Indonesia.

The new capital rules come as an unpleasant and prohibitive surprise for futures traders in the crypto industry. They were reportedly not raised for discussion during Bappebti’s industry consultations before the announcement.

Reuters quoted digital asset trading firm Indodax’s CEO Oscar Darmawan as saying the Rp 1 trillion minimum capital is more than the amount needed to start a rural bank. The needed paid-up capital for futures brokers of other commodities is also very much lower – a mere Rp 2.5 billion by comparison.

Regulation “should not kill an industry,” said Darmawan.

Reuters noted that while there is no data about the size of Indonesia’s crypto market, industry insiders believe the its investor population has nearly matched that of the country’s main stock market.

Using crypto for payments is banned by Indonesia’s central bank, but trade in blockchain-backed assets is permitted. Since October last year, Jakarta has allowed futures trading of crypto as a means for people to hedge against crypto price fluctuations – but no futures transaction for any digital asset has been made so far, say traders.