First phase of Indonesia’s Digital Rupiah achieved

Bank Indonesia has completed the Proof of Concept (PoC) for its Wholesale Rupiah Digital Cash Ledger.

This initiative advances the country’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) development through Project Garuda.

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo announced that the central bank has completed the “Immediate State,” representing the first phase of the Rupiah Digital exploration journey.

The development aligns with the bank’s mandate as Indonesia’s sole currency issuer and responds to the rapid growth of the digital financial economy.

“This achievement is a manifestation of Bank Indonesia’s commitment to the development of the Rupiah Digital in response to the rapid growth of the digital financial economy,” Warjiyo stated in the official report.

According to Bank Indonesia economist Fransiskus Xaverius Tyas Prasaja, the PoC validated the required technical capabilities using distributed ledger technology (DLT). The testing phase showed that DLT-based solutions could effectively meet the requirements of the Rupiah Digital business model.

The technical implementation involved testing across two DLT platforms: Corda, developed by R3, and Hyperledger Besu, developed by Kaleido. Both platforms were tested through 55 scenarios, focusing on three core business processes: issuance, redemption, and fund transfer.

The PoC revealed that the DLT platforms successfully integrated with conventional systems using existing standards and the ISO 20022 standard. Smart contracts showed better transaction efficiency and flexibility for future Rupiah Digital development.

The central bank’s whitepaper, “Project Garuda: Navigating the Rupiah Digital Architecture,” states two remaining phases – the Intermediate State and End State – in Indonesia’s CBDC development roadmap. The successful completion of this initial phase positions Indonesia among the growing number of nations actively advancing their digital currency initiatives.

Bank Indonesia emphasizes that the Rupiah Digital will be integrated with existing payment systems and financial market infrastructure, supporting both domestic and cross-border transactions.

The PoC results have identified key areas for further exploration, including privacy mechanisms, liquidity management protocols, and multi-validator deployment strategies. The development marks a crucial step toward Indonesia’s digital financial infrastructure advancement.