Authorities in Indonesia have reported that they are looking into social media posts that suggest Bali is being utilised as a haven for bitcoin trading.

According to the head of Bank Indonesia\'s representative office in Bali, Causa Iman Karana, undercover police officers discovered two cafes still using bitcoin as a means of payment, but also found that a sizeable number of businesses – including hotels, travel agencies and jewellery shops – who had previously allowed bitcoin payments had now stopped using them in transactions.

Karana said that following the police\'s latest discoveries that they would be taking action to ban these transactions, as the law dictates. He said that the Bank of Indonesia planned to work with the Directorate of Special Crime Investigation unit to ensure that all businesses only traded using the countries official currency, the rupiah.

Bank Indonesia has labeled cryptocurrencies high risk and has announced that they may be used for criminal activities, such as the funding of terror and money laundering, which could adversely impact that financial structure of the country. Recent statements by the bank on the subject have used the phrase “virtual currency”, and have shown an increasingly tough stance on crypto.