Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo announced during the Indonesia Digital Finance and Economy Festival and Fintech Summit 2025 that the central bank is moving ahead with plans to issue digital central-bank securities, tokenised versions of government bonds, that will be paired with the country’s upcoming digital currency, the Digital Rupiah.
Warjiyo described the initiative as “Indonesia’s national version of a stablecoin,” noting the model mirrors how certain stablecoins elsewhere are backed on a one-to-one basis by U.S. government bonds.
He said BI will issue “digital securities in the form of the digital rupiah with underlying SBN,” thereby embedding government-bond backing directly into the digital monetary framework.
The move forms part of BI’s broader digital finance strategy aimed at integrating distributed-ledger technologies into the monetary system and strengthening the international standing of the rupiah.
Tokenised SBNs would allow investors and institutions to hold government-bond-backed digital units, potentially enhancing liquidity, transparency, and settlement speed.
Although stablecoins are not yet officially recognised as legal tender in Indonesia, regulator Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) has begun monitoring their usage, particularly where they serve as hedges or transaction tools.
The development of a government-backed tokenised bond product underscores BI’s intent to channel innovation within a regulated framework.
Still, significant implementation challenges remain. Tokenising government bonds requires robust legal, regulatory, and technological infrastructures, including the safe issuance, custody, and settlement of digital securities, and the ability to integrate them smoothly with the Digital Rupiah and existing payment systems.
Industry analysts highlight that effective governance, investor protection frameworks, and interoperability standards will be critical for success.
Indonesia is taking a bold step by combining its digital-currency ambitions with tokenised government-bond instruments, signalling that the next phase of its financial-system reform may see the Digital Rupiah entwined with bond-backed digital assets, providing a model that other emerging markets may closely watch.