Indonesia Launches CBDC-Backed Digital Bonds as ‘National Stablecoin’

Bank Indonesia (BI), the nation’s central bank, has unveiled plans to issue what it describes as its ‘national stablecoin version’—a digital currency backed by government bonds (SBN). The initiative was announced by central bank Governor Perry Warjiyo during the Indonesia Digital Finance and Economy Festival and Fintech Summit 2025 in Jakarta. This strategic move positions Indonesia at the forefront of integrating traditional financial instruments with cutting-edge digital currency technology.

The digital securities will be tokenized versions of SBN, built on the digital rupiah infrastructure—Indonesia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). By leveraging the digital rupiah as the foundational currency, Bank Indonesia aims to create a secure, government-backed digital asset that combines the stability of traditional bonds with the efficiency of blockchain technology. This hybrid approach represents a significant innovation in the global financial landscape.

The technical architecture of this initiative involves creating digital securities that are essentially tokenized government bonds, with the digital rupiah serving as the underlying backing mechanism. This structure ensures that each digital security maintains a direct link to both the sovereign credit of Indonesia and the central bank’s digital currency infrastructure. The tokenized bonds will function as digital representations of traditional government securities, providing investors with familiar investment characteristics in a modern digital format.

By building these digital securities on the digital rupiah CBDC platform, Bank Indonesia creates what Governor Warjiyo calls the nation’s ‘stablecoin version.’ This terminology reflects the stability and trust associated with government-backed instruments while embracing the technological advantages of digital currencies. The use of CBDC infrastructure ensures regulatory compliance, monetary policy integration, and seamless settlement capabilities that private stablecoins cannot match.

This initiative represents a major advancement in Indonesia’s digital financial transformation, effectively bridging the gap between traditional finance (tradfi) and cryptocurrency innovations. The integration of government bonds with CBDC technology creates a new class of digital assets that maintains sovereign backing while offering the programmability and efficiency benefits of blockchain-based systems. This development could potentially enhance liquidity in government securities markets while providing new investment opportunities for both domestic and international investors.

The announcement at the Indonesia Digital Finance and Economy Festival signals the central bank’s commitment to modernizing the nation’s financial infrastructure. By creating a ‘national stablecoin version’ backed by government bonds, Bank Indonesia establishes a framework that could potentially reduce reliance on private stablecoins while maintaining monetary sovereignty. This approach also positions the digital rupiah as a central component of Indonesia’s future financial ecosystem, potentially influencing how other central banks approach CBDC implementation and digital asset integration.