Indonesia Just Made It Illegal to Hype Crypto and Stocks Without a License

If you get paid to tell your followers about a crypto token or a stock in Indonesia, you now legally have to say so, and you may need a certification to do it at all. On June 24, 2026, Indonesia's Financial Services Authority, known as OJK, issued Regulation No. 6 of 2026, called POJK No. 6/2026, establishing a formal framework for financial influencers. It is one of the most prescriptive finfluencer regimes in Asia, and it changes the rules of the game for every financial brand that markets through creators in the region.

What the new rules actually require

According to reporting by FinanceFeeds and Cointelegraph, the regulation requires anyone disseminating information about financial products, including investments, loans, securities, and digital assets, to hold the relevant licenses or competency certifications. Influencers must disclose any economic interest they have when promoting a financial product. In plain terms, paid promotion now has to be declared as paid promotion.

For crypto specifically, the rules go further. As reported by FinanceFeeds, influencers may promote only digital assets listed on authorized exchanges, and any service provider they endorse must hold a valid OJK license. Marketing campaigns must be run through regulated financial services businesses, known locally as PUJK entities, and distributed through those firms' official channels rather than an influencer's personal account. According to legal news service MLex, an influencer must obtain a license where their recommendation activity falls within regulated financial-services activities, such as giving investment advice on capital-market products.

The enforcement has real teeth

This is not guidance that can be ignored. According to Cryptobriefing and KuCoin's coverage, the OJK can request Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs to block or suspend accounts that violate the rules, and in cases of immediate consumer risk authorities may seek takedowns without prior notice. According to CoinAlertNews, citing Bloomberg, violations can lead to written warnings, license revocation, or fines of up to 15 billion Indonesian rupiah, roughly 920,000 US dollars.

The most consequential provision for brands is the chain of liability. As multiple outlets including MLex and Coinspress report, licensed financial services providers are held accountable for the content their influencer partners publish on their behalf. A company can no longer outsource its marketing to a creator and wash its hands of what that creator says. If the promotional material breaks the rules, the affiliated firm, not just the individual, can face sanctions.

Why Indonesia did this now

The urgency is rooted in real harm. According to Cryptobriefing and Cryip, in February 2026 Indonesian authorities levied a penalty of 5.35 billion rupiah on an influencer identified as BVN for stock manipulation, a case that put a spotlight on how undisclosed promotion can distort markets and hurt retail investors. The scale of exposure is enormous. According to Coinspress, Indonesia now has more than 21 million crypto investors, exceeding the number of participants in its domestic stock market, and regulators estimate roughly 80 percent of crypto investors are younger than 34, a demographic that relies heavily on social media for investment information.

When tens of millions of young investors are taking cues from creators, the regulator's view is that those creators carry real market power and should be held to real standards. That is the logic behind the certification mandate.

Indonesia is not acting alone

This is part of a global reckoning with finfluencer power. According to FinanceFeeds and Cointelegraph, the UK Financial Conduct Authority led an international enforcement campaign in April 2026 targeting unlicensed financial influencers across 17 participating jurisdictions, resulting in 120 account takedown requests against 1,267 illegal financial advertisements that had reached at least 2.3 million UK social media accounts. Australia's ASIC warned as early as 2022 that influencers may need a financial services license when their content amounts to financial advice. The Philippines introduced crypto-specific marketing restrictions in 2025, and Singapore and India have tightened their own oversight.

What makes Indonesia's approach stand out, as FinanceFeeds notes, is that it mandates formal certification up front rather than relying only on after-the-fact enforcement against promotions that cross the line. It is among the first in Asia to require qualifications before a creator can recommend digital assets.

A company can no longer outsource its marketing to a creator and wash its hands of what that creator says. That single shift changes how financial brands market in Southeast Asia.

What this means for financial brands and brokers

For forex brokers, crypto exchanges, and fintech platforms operating in Indonesia, the compliance burden just rose sharply, but so did the opportunity for brands that do this properly. As Coinspress observes, by holding firms legally liable for their influencer partners, the OJK is effectively pushing the market away from aggressive, volume-based promotion toward high-compliance, educational content. The era of paying a creator to hype a token to a young audience with no disclosure and no accountability is closing in Indonesia.

That favors brands that already treat influencer marketing as a serious, vetted, transparent discipline. The firms that will thrive under these rules are the ones that partner with certified, credible creators, disclose relationships openly, keep campaigns within official licensed channels, and build genuine educational content rather than hype. The firms that relied on cheap, undisclosed promotion to drive sign-ups will find that model no longer works, and may find themselves liable for the consequences.

FAQs

Q1: What is POJK No. 6/2026?

A1: It is a regulation issued by Indonesia's Financial Services Authority OJK on June 24, 2026, creating a formal framework for financial influencers, requiring certifications, disclosure of paid promotions, and restrictions on crypto marketing, according to MLex and FinanceFeeds.

Q2: What do finfluencers have to do now?

A2: They must hold relevant licenses or competency certifications, disclose any economic interest, promote only digital assets on authorized exchanges, and run crypto campaigns through licensed providers' official channels, according to FinanceFeeds and Cointelegraph.

Q3: What are the penalties?

A3: Violations can lead to written warnings, license revocation, or fines up to 15 billion rupiah, about 920,000 US dollars, and the OJK can request that accounts be blocked or suspended, according to CoinAlertNews citing Bloomberg and Cryptobriefing.

Q4: Why does this matter for financial brands?

A4: Licensed financial firms are now legally responsible for the content their influencer partners publish, so brands must vet creators carefully, disclose relationships, and keep campaigns compliant, according to MLex and Coinspress.

Q5: Is this happening elsewhere?

A5: Yes. The UK, Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, and India have all tightened oversight of financial influencers, with the UK FCA leading a 17-jurisdiction enforcement campaign in April 2026, according to FinanceFeeds and Cointelegraph.

For brands entering Southeast Asia, Indonesia's finfluencer rules are a clear signal: compliant, transparent, credible marketing is now the only marketing that survives, and that is exactly where SpinDepth helps brands show up.

Source:

Source 1: FinanceFeeds, Indonesia Targets Crypto Influencers With Strict New Rules, https://financefeeds.com/indonesia-targets-crypto-influencers/

Source 2: MLex, Indonesia imposes new compliance rules on financial influencers, https://www.mlex.com/mlex/financial-services/articles/2493139

Source 3: Cointelegraph, Indonesia Joins Global Crackdown on Financial Influencers, https://cointelegraph.com/news/indonesia-certification-rules-influencers-recommending-crypto

Source 4: Cryptobriefing, Indonesia requires financial influencers to disclose promotions and obtain licenses, https://cryptobriefing.com/indonesia-finfluencer-regulation-crypto-licenses/

Source 5: Coinspress, Indonesia Imposes Strict Rules on Crypto Influencer Posts, https://coinspress.com/indonesia-imposes-strict-rules-on-crypto-influencer-posts/

Source 6: CoinAlertNews, Indonesia Mandates Certification for Crypto Influencers Under New OJK Rules, https://coinalertnews.com/news/2026/06/25/indonesia-crypto-influencer-certification