Bali’s government is cracking down on tourists paying for goods and services using cryptocurrency, with the island’s governor sending a reminder that Indonesia’s fiat currency is the only legal tender.

On May 28, the government-owned news agency Antara reported that Bali Governor Wayan Koster hosted a press conference the same day and said tourists who “use crypto as a means of payment [...] will be dealt with firmly.”

“Strict actions range from deportation, administrative sanctions, criminal penalties, closure of business premises and other tough sanctions,” he added.

The meeting was attended by Bali’s chief police inspector and Trisno Nugroho, the head of the Bali Representative Office for Bank Indonesia — the country’s central bank.

Nugroho reaffirmed that trading crypto is allowed but the use of crypto for payments is banned.

Koster noted that Indonesia’s currency — the rupiah — is the only one that can be legally used for payments in the country. The use of other currencies carries a maximum potential sentence of one year in prison and a fine of 200 million rupiah ($13,000).

The Bali governor’s announcement comes days after a May 26 investigative report in Kompas, considered the country’s newspaper of record.

The Nigeria Federal Executive Council has approved the National Policy on Blockchain drafted by the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy, paving the way for the formal use of blockchain technology in the country.

In a May 2 tweet, the special assistant to the President on digital and new media, Tolu Ogunlesi, said relevant agencies would be working to develop appropriate regulatory frameworks. He said the government established a steering committee led by the National Information and Technology Development Agency to oversee policy implementation.

However, the approved policy is not yet public. Ogunlesi promised that this would be provided soon.

Many Nigerians have welcomed the news of the approval even without seeing the policy document. Some have also questioned if the new policy legalizes crypto usage in the country.

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibitedfinancial institutions from providing their services for crypto-related transactions.

Since then, the CBN has yet to clarify its stance towards the industry. However, that has not stopped cryptocurrency adoption — Chainalysis ranked Nigeria in the top 20 of its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index.

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