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Two freedom advocates left their hometown for Indonesia in search of a peaceful pasture. Upon arrival, they saw the need for Bitcoin and decided to facilitate its spread throughout the country.
With a population of approximately 279.8 million people as of July 2024, Indonesia has around 77% of its population unbanked or underbanked, due to systematic problems (high banking fees, hurdles, etc.), restrictive policies, bank scams, and other malpractices.
Since the beginning of their Bitcoin initiative, there have been over 20 meetups held monthly in Indonesia, leading to significant Bitcoin adoption despite the heavy restrictions on foreign currency in the country.
In this blog post, we will explore how a small group of Bitcoiners are gradually increasing the adoption rate of Bitcoin in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, despite numerous challenges.
We will delve into the evolution of Bitcoin Indonesia and how the local communities are doing their best to empower Indonesia through Bitcoin.
Join us as we explore how Bitcoin adoption is going and how much progress has been made in Indonesia.
Most people don't know this, but Indonesians have been grappling with high inflation, high corruption rate, restrictions, high scam rate, high underbanked population and many more.
Before the Bitcoin Indonesia initiatives began, there was some Bitcoin activity in Indonesia. However, due to government policies restricting external currencies, the use of Bitcoin and other foreign currencies as a form of payment is prohibited and anyone caught using them could be arrested and jailed.
This policy causes hardship for the Indonesian people and restricts their freedom, as they are limited to using only the Indonesian rupiah.
Despite these challenges, the Indonesian people continue to persevere.
Here's a critical real-life example of how inflation is affecting Indonesia:
Due to the weak currency, customers often receive sausages in plastic packaging as change at supermarkets. Often, they don't receive any coins change at all (all change below 1,000 Rupiah is often neglected).
Additionally, the prices of most commodities have risen significantly, including items like tomatoes, foodstuffs, parking tickets, utility bills, and almost everything else in the country.
Recognizing these challenges, two visionary Bitcoiners, Marius and Diana, came to Indonesia. They observed the resilience of the people but also noticed that many Indonesians were unbanked so they decided to educate them on Bitcoin.
Observing the current situation in Indonesia, where a significant portion of the population are unbanked or underbanked, and recognizing Bitcoin's potential, they initiated Bitcoin Indonesia together with their co-founders Dimas and Keypleb to increase the reach of Bitcoin adoption in Indonesia.
Bitcoin Indonesia is Bitcoin-only, non-profit organization focused on grassroots adoption in Indonesia through free and open-source education and community building.
Bitcoin Indonesia was founded by four individuals: Dimas, Keypleb, Diana, and Marius. With a solid team of now 21, including the founders, volunteers, and local community leaders, they contribute to nationwide efforts by providing various learning opportunities, hosting over 20 monthly educational meetups, and driving Bitcoin adoption in Indonesia.
With a mission to make Bitcoin more accessible and understandable for Indonesia's 280 million people, Bitcoin Indonesia aims to educate 100 million Indonesians about Bitcoin by 2030. Their goal is to provide people with the tools for economic empowerment, support financial human rights, overcome financial repression, and give access to freedom technologies such as Bitcoin, Lightning, e-cash, Fedimint, and Nostr.
When I asked both Marius and Diana about Bitcoin Indonesia's biggest wins, they said, “It's Bitcoin House Bali!”
In case you haven't watched the amazing 15 mins video of Dianas’ Presentation of the Bitcoin Indonesia project and the circular economy building in Bali check it out here.
The Bitcoin House Bali, a physical education and open-source development center as well as a community hub, serves as an epicenter for introducing Bitcoin to the people of Indonesia and as a model for circular economies in the country.
With the support from their amazing contributors through Geyser and their own efforts, they have been able to establish Bitcoin House Bali. But it doesn't end there.
Their Geyser page remains active, and they welcome additional support to ensure the ongoing sustainability of Bitcoin House Bali.
Additionally, they’re proud of what they’ve accomplished:
- They’ve hosted over 20 monthly meetups nationwide, including in remote areas like Sumba and Natuna Island, leading to more than 100 events over the past year.
- They assisted the University of Nahdlatul Ulama in allocating 5% of their endowment fund into Bitcoin.
- They’re honored to be a LightNode of MyFirstBitcoin, representing Indonesia.
- Their educational outreach has taken them to universities and schools, including a presentation to 700 students in Bandung.
- They’ve collaborated with Indonesian developers on projects like an online Lightning ATM and Fedi Mod integrations, and recently launched their Dev Program.
- They’ve created new opportunities for community leaders in Indonesia and volunteers worldwide, and developed a free online education hub.
- They’ve translated Wallet of Satoshi and open-source Lightning Tipcards into Bahasa Indonesia.
- They're active advocates for Fedi and have onboarded numerous people
- They have successfully engaged with the Indonesia President and other high officials about Bitcoin.
- They’ve connected local energy producers with international Bitcoin mining companies to promote renewable energy projects.
- They’ve raised awareness about Bitcoin’s importance in Indonesia through international conferences and discussions.
- They’ve written and published an open-source book, “Bitcoin For Indonesia.”
- They’ve created an open-source meetup guide and translated a Bitcoin flyer, both in collaboration with Bitcoin For Fairness.
- Finally, They have joined the PlanB Network to share their experiences and learn from others.
These efforts reflect their commitment to advancing Bitcoin in Indonesia and fostering a supportive Bitcoin community.
Marius & Diana highlighted several significant challenges Bitcoin Indonesia faces, but here are the primary challenges they stated:
- Financial Funding for Education, Adoption and Outreach: Despite all their efforts, securing financial resources remains a big challenge for Bitcoin Indonesia, particularly as a grassroots initiative aimed at free education and widespread adoption.
Financial resources are crucial for sustaining Bitcoin Indonesia's educational and outreach efforts that promote the understanding and adoption of Bitcoin in Indonesia. If you want to support their efforts, you can do so by donating to their project via their Geyser.
- The Regulatory Framework: Indonesia's regulatory environment poses a significant hurdle for Bitcoin adoption. The government has strict regulations around Foreign Currencies & cryptocurrencies, making it challenging for merchants to accept Bitcoin legally.
To navigate this challenge, Bitcoin Indonesia focuses on creating a closed-loop system (circular economy) where Bitcoin transactions are facilitated within a community or network, reducing the need for interaction with traditional financial systems that may be restrictive and have advocated Bitcoin in politics to shape the regulatory framework for wider Bitcoin adoption.
- Censorship: The Indonesian government has imposed various restrictions on cryptocurrency activities, including censorship of related information and websites. This limits public awareness and access to digital currencies, which can hinder the growth of Bitcoin adoption in Indonesia.
Indonesia is a critical area for Bitcoin education and human rights work. With 77% of its population unbanked or underbanked, Bitcoin holds significant promise for financial inclusion and sovereignty. Yet, barriers such as unreliable information, low financial literacy, corruption, censorship, and scams hinder progress.
Despite these challenges, Indonesia boasts one of the highest crypto adoption rates globally, underscoring the need for legitimate educational resources, particularly to distinguish between crypto and Bitcoin.
As the fourth most populous country with a vibrant tech industry, Indonesia has immense potential for Bitcoin development.
The Bitcoin ecosystem in Indonesia is growing in general. Last year there was the Indonesia Bitcoin Conference in Bali (main organizer: https://twitter.com/dearezkitha/), there are many other local communities and initiatives (e.g.https://twitter.com/rizkysyaiful).
So many people want to get involved and contribute by spreading knowledge, translating contents, creating their own products (e.g. calendars, coffee, T-shirts), etc.
By focusing on education and development, Bitcoin Indonesia aims to create Bitcoin tools tailored to local needs, empowering Indonesians with Bitcoin and contributing to the global open-source Bitcoin community.
- A corn seller became emotional because he can now have a bank account for the first time in his life and send money to his family, all thanks to his Bitcoin wallet, which is his first bank account.
- A mother of two, who was previously scammed and lost all her savings, finally has hope again for her future. She sees Bitcoin as a way to build wealth without having to trust anyone.
Bitcoin Indonesia, a fully operational non-profit organization, founded by 4 Bitcoin freedom fighters, is fighting for widespread Bitcoin adoption in Indonesia, despite facing numerous challenges they have shown resilience and great proof-of-works.
They have also mapped out some amazing blueprint to increase Bitcoin Adoption.
Bitcoin Adoption = Information (i.e. Education) x Social (i.e. Community) x Economics (i.e. Business Network) x Technology (i.e. Development). Therefore, they focus on those four pillars.
But they need your support to keep fighting for Bitcoin in Indonesia, sustain themselves and sustain several costs that may arise while doing so to ensure Bitcoin reaches the whole of Indonesia gradually.
- Donate: As a non profit organization Bitcoin Indonesia depends on donations & grants, and any contribution, no matter how small, can make a difference.
Consider donating to their project through Geyser and support the Bitcoin House Bali initiative, which aims to empower Indonesians through Bitcoin education and adoption and circular economy building.
- Join Their Meet-ups and Workshops: Initiating regular Meetups and Workshops are one of the ways to create awareness for Bitcoin, by joining their monthly meetups or upcoming workshops you can also be a part of the revolution! for more enquiries on their monthly meetups or upcoming workshops you can reach out to them through their Telegram group!
- Visiting The Bitcoin House Bali: Bitcoin House Bali is the first of its kind, serving as a physical hub for open-source education, development, and community activities. Visiting Bitcoin House Bali is a great way to support their mission. To get more info on Bitcoin House Bali, check it out on Geyser.
Don't know where it is located? Check here…
- Spread Awareness: Share this blog post and information about Bitcoin Indonesia across your social media platforms, forums, and with your network. The more people who know about their mission, the greater impact they can achieve.
- Volunteer: If you possess skills or expertise in education, technology, or community outreach, consider volunteering your time and resources to help Bitcoin Indonesia. If you're interested in volunteering, you can reach out to them through the following channels:
Website
Instagram
instagram.com/bitcoinindo21 instagram.com/bitcoinhousebali
Tiktok
tiktok.com/@bitcoin.indonesia tiktok.com/@bitcoin.house.bali
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