This round of moves from Indonesia is ruthless enough: if KOLs want to drive sales, they have to get properly vetted first. An $830k fine is enough to send wild “gurus” packing, and the 21 million younger “shallow-root” retail investors finally have some protection?

According to Coin Jie news, Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) will require crypto influencers to obtain competency certification before recommending any crypto assets, or face fines of up to 15 billion Indonesian rupiah (about $83.5 million). The country has more than 21 million crypto investors, exceeding its entire stock market population, with 80% under the age of 34 and heavily relying on social media for investment advice. In the past year, Indonesians have lost more than $474 million to online financial scams, making it the country with the highest number of fraud reports globally.