Boasting 40 meetups a month and a broad estimated group of 55,000 bitcoiners, the Bitcoin Indonesia ecosystem may be one of the crucial lively and profitable Bitcoin adoption tales on the earth immediately.
Indonesia is a nation made up of 17,000 islands with over 380 completely different tribes and cultures. The nation, positioned between Australia and China, has a inhabitants of over 280 million folks, which has been ravaged by inflation and financial repression, seeing the Rupiah collaps 61% since over the previous 30 years versus the greenback. In consequence, its inhabitants is keenly conscious of the issues with fiat forex and sometimes open to options, fertile floor for Bitcoin adoption.
As we speak, the Bitcoin Indonesia round economic system has a number of ongoing training and adoption efforts throughout the nation. In line with Dimas, a former supplies science engineer turned Bitcoin evangelist and one of many founders of Bitcoin Indonesia, there are roughly 55,000 folks partaking with Bitcoin in a method or one other by their efforts. The 40 meetups a month are hosted throughout 40 completely different cities all through the nation, with Fedi, Blink, and Pockets of Satoshi as in style wallets. Bitcoin Indonesia’s Fedimint Federation — a Bitcoin ecash funds infrastructure — is estimated to have between 10,000 and 20,000 members, although particular numbers are usually not out there given ecash’s robust privateness properties.
They’ve over 3,600 members in Telegram, over 27,000 on Instagram, and over 10,000 on TikTok, social platforms by which they distribute Bitcoin training content material in a mixture of Bahasa Indonesia and English to the native inhabitants. They’re additionally one of many largest My First Bitcoin nodes, having graduated 500 college students by 2025 of the Bitcoin certification and training program initially born in El Salvador. They intention to double the variety of graduates by the tip of 2026.
Surviving a Authorities Ban
Whereas Bitcoin Indonesia’s success is spectacular, it’s not the primary time Bitcoin adoption has swelled within the nation. Again in 2014, there was a Bitcoin adoption initiative that obtained some worldwide consideration known as the Bitcoin island, which targeted totally on the gorgeous vacationer island of Bali. The initiative noticed as few as 42 retailers accepting bitcoin as much as ‘hundreads’ in accordance with Dimas, together with the acquisition of a high-profile luxurious villa with bitcoin, price $500,000 on the time or 800 BTC.
The momentum and adoption should have been robust as a result of the Indonesian authorities responded to it, however not nicely. In 2017, the federal government unleashed a crackdown on various currencies within the nation by the Financial institution of Indonesia, which issued a Regulation banning cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as cost devices, efficient January 2018. It didn’t simply goal cryptocurrencies but additionally overseas fiat currencies just like the greenback or euros for funds. The BI cited dangers to monetary stability, cash laundering, and volatility, guaranteeing in flip the continued impoverishment of its inhabitants beneath a collapsing Ruphia. The crackdown was no paper tiger both; companies promoting various currencies like Bitcoin noticed undercover probes result in store closures beneath the specter of arrest and even jail time for operators.
The crackdown coincided with the 2017 bitcoin bull market as nicely, which noticed on-chain charges go as excessive as $50 {dollars}, an financial occasion in Bitcoin which shook the business and led to the event of the Lightning Community, designed for high-speed, low-cost funds and which is used immediately all through Bitcoin Round Economies. In consequence, nonetheless, adoption quieted down for years on this asian nation of islands, till after COVID hit, when the founders of the Bitcoin Indonesia group considered a brand new solution to spur bitcoin adoption within the nation.
Motivated by the post-COVID political and financial disaster, in addition to the meteoric rise of bitcoin from a low of $4,000 to as excessive as $70,000, a small group of Indonesian Bitcoiners kickstarted the native Bitcoin group once more, utilizing a brand new authorized technique that had protected bank cards and airmiles rewards applications from the 2018 authorized restrictions. Seems in case your cost system is a “closed loop” then you aren’t a ‘forex’. Bitcoin possession was nonetheless authorized as a retailer of worth; it was solely the medium of change utilization that was restricted. But when as an alternative of shopping for one thing with bitcoin you might be redeeming bitcoin for a services or products, then it’s, legally talking, a good sport. This loophole, which protects the native banks and different main legacy monetary gamers, additionally gave cowl to Bitcoin.
Right here’s Fedi got here in to supply infrastructure, resulting in an actively used Bitcoin ecash mint, estimated to have 10,000 to twenty,000 members. In Bitcoin Indonesia, folks don’t spend bitcoin; they redeem it in shops which might be members of the community, maintaining using bitcoin legally compliant with the native legal guidelines, whereas unlocking service provider adoption.
With the authorized technique sorted out, it was a matter of reactivating the community of Bitcoin OGs within the nation, many probably created in that 2014 period of “The Bitcoin Island” in Bali. One second particularly stood out to Dimas, trying again on the bootstrap section of the group. He reached out to an area “Bitcoin whale” and talked about he wished to start out an area My First Bitcoin node. Quickly sufficient, the whale obtained again to him and provided a business location at a close-by mall to host the occasions; “owned by a son-in-law,” he mentioned, “you need to use it totally free”. Surprised, Dimas requested, “Does he personal the shop or one thing?” The whale mentioned, “No, he owns the mall”. An instance, Dimas says that “something can occur in Bitcoin”. This similar initiative finally led to the five hundred college students graduating from the My First Bitcoin program in 2025.
Pillars of a Profitable Bitcoin Meetup
Leveraging his expertise within the broader crypto business, internet hosting training occasions for exchanges like Tokocrypto in 2021, Dimas and the local people additionally began internet hosting Bitcoin meetups. Not like a lot of the competitors within the nation on the time, these academic occasions have been free slightly than costing attendees a whole lot of {dollars} to entry. Ultimately, Bitcoin Indonesia developed a template for creating profitable Bitcoin meetups, which they revealed as a information on GitHub totally free.
The primary pillars of a profitable meetup, in accordance with Dimas and the Bitcoin Indonesia group, are:
- Be a real Bitcoiner with strong information.
“First, it’s important to be a Bitcoiner. It’s important to know sufficient about Bitcoin.” Dimas defined. The chief should have an actual understanding to coach and encourage others authentically.
- Be prepared to turn into a long-term group chief.
“Second, you might be prepared to turn into a pacesetter, which implies that it is best to be capable of broaden. Handle your group, and make it larger. You don’t simply run meet up and that’s it. It’s important to turn into like a task determine in your space.”
Success requires ongoing dedication past one occasion. It means being publicly seen, constructing, rising, and proudly owning the native Bitcoin presence.
- Safe a free venue with no limitations.
“Third one, it’s important to discover a place, an area, ideally a restaurant… that attendees don’t should pay to attend. There can’t be a minimal order of espresso or one thing like that.”The placement should be zero-cost and welcoming (no minimal spend), eradicating monetary hurdles so anybody can attend.
- Present free branding and supplies (with reimbursement).
“We offer the leaders with the flag, with the books, flyers, stickers, banners, and all the things. In order that they print it themselves, after which we simply reimburse them.”Advertising and infrastructure assist, like flags, books, flyers, and many others, make the occasion look skilled and constant, whereas reimbursement retains the chief motivated. Ultimately, donations can assist rising meetups.
- Preserve it utterly free for attendees.
“Our model is free, free meetup, free training.”Charging for training, like competing crypto academies that cost $1,000–$2,000, creates expectations of fast returns and sometimes results in disappointment or scams. Free entry builds belief and speedy development.
- Deal with Bitcoin and monetary literacy.
“We attempt to train that Bitcoin is a instrument that may actually empower you. That’s Bitcoin for everybody. First, what’s cash? After which what’s the historical past of the Indonesian Rupiah? Why are you feeling so poor? And the way Bitcoin will be one of many instruments that may assist folks to attain true monetary freedom.”By instructing folks monetary literacy, they turn into inoculated in opposition to Ponzi schemes and different crypto scams, which have ravaged the nation and seeded broad skepticism within the public in direction of this business. Instructing folks in regards to the historical past of cash and particularly their native forex helps them perceive why Bitcoin may also help them rise and break the cycle of fiat collapse.
The Bitcoin Indonesia round economic system has been supported by HRF, OpenSats, Block.xyz, and Mike Petersoin of Bitcoin Seashore fame.