Legal Protection for Bitcoin Users in Criminal Acts of Fraud in Indonesia

Abstract

This paper discusses legal protection in criminal law for bitcoin users in Indonesia. Bitcoin has not been specifically regulated in Indonesian laws and regulations; even the Indonesian government has made a clear statement regarding the illegitimacy of bitcoin. Bitcoin fraud raises new issues related to legal protection for its users in Indonesia. The research method used is normative legal research, with the statue approach and case approach. This study uses secondary legal data. The results of the study indicate that bitcoin does not have a positive legal arrangement in Indonesia. Even so, bitcoin can be a legitimate payment instrument in Indonesia with several conditions being fulfilled, such as not easily damaged, good quality, cannot be faked, easy to carry, and has a stable value. Whereas in terms of legal protection for users of bitcoin in Indonesia based on Article 28D of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945. Although bitcoin is not explicitly stated in Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions, this law can be used as its legal basis, because bitcoin is included in the form of electronic transactions. The Criminal Code can be a threat to the perpetrators of bitcoin fraud.