Tokocrypto is getting aggressive in developing the crypto and blockchain asset ecosystem in Indonesia. Yesterday (19/8), the company launched TokoMall NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace platform to support the development of the NFT market in Indonesia, as well as expand the market reach of local creators to penetrate the global market.

Tokocrypto’s Chief Strategy Officer, Chung Ying Lai explained, TokoMall presents the digital meets reality concept. Digital platforms and art in the form of NFT can be the answer to real-world problems. By switching to NFT and making it mainstream, local creators can market their work to a wider market.

They can also ensure the uniqueness or rarity of their work as an added value for collectors. In addition, creators can ensure the continuity of royalties from each NFT marketed. “This can be the answer to copyright and royalty issues that usually happen to creators when doing marketing in the real world,” Ying said during a virtual press conference, yesterday (19/8).

For collectors, the NFT works can be a long-term investment as its authenticity is guaranteed. They can also exchange the collected NFT for goods or original works from merchant partners at TokoMall.

TokoMall has several categories, NFT Exclusive which contains TKO Original, TKO Lifestyle, TKO Creative, TKO Stars, and others. In addition, it also presents a marketplace category, allowing creators and general collectors to upload their NFT works.

Some exclusive merchant partners available on TokoMall are Nevertoolavish, MaximallFootwear, DAMN! I Love Indonesia, Banyan Core, Si Juki, ONIC E-Sports, Afternoon, Mr. Kinur, Karya Karsa, Jakarta Metaverse, and Museum of Toys.

The creator of Si Juki, Faza Meonk said that the creative industry in Indonesia is growing since digital technology makes it easier for creators and collectors to access. However, with blockchain and NFT, it can be a solution as a creator’s copyright protection because the work will be recorded transparently on the blockchain.

“This can also be an alternative for creators to get additional revenue streams and collectors can also appreciate creators by collecting this NFT,” he said.

ONIC E-Sports’ COO,  Justin Wijaya said that his team will take advantage of the TokoMall to present exclusive collections with historical value and special digital merchandise on the platform. “NFT began to be widely known since the beginning of this year. For collectors, there is an opportunity for investment because this is a new type of collectible art that is new to this digital space,” he said.

In order to maintain NFT’s works originality at TokoMall, Ying said that his team will do curation. “When the originality failed to be verified, we will blacklist the creator in charge.”

Part of TKO’s development

TokoMall is part of the development of the Toko Token (TKO) utility which is built on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network. TKO is an exchange launched by Tokocrypto in March that takes a unique hybrid token approach, the CeFi and DeFi utilities.

In the CeFi utility, TKO is used for savings programs such as TKO Deposit, TKO Rebate, TKO Savings, and TKO Cashback. While through DeFi, TKO is used for farming pools and lending. Another utility development is for staking and saving. Investor can lock his TKO to earn interest based on the deposit duration.

Therefore, TokoMall only uses TKO for point redemption, it’s not available for other exchanges. Creators can mint and offer their works, while collectors can get the NFT by exchanging TKO according to the value listed in each work.

“We use TKO for redemption points because Bank Indonesia only recognizes Rupiah as the only valid payment,” Ying said.

Providing 29 altcoin on Pluang

In addition, Tokocrypto attempts to expand crypto asset transactions with other partners. This time with Pluang. Previously, Pluang had collaborated with Zipmex to deliver Bitcoin and Ethereum assets since November last year.

Through this collaboration, Pluang users can buy and sell 29 exchanges, such as Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), Ripple (XRP), and others on the Pluang application.

Pluang’s Co-Founder, Richard Chua explained, his team observed the need of Pluang users for crypto assets were increasing as the market developed. “And now, Pluang users can invest in the entire crypto asset ecosystem, from ‘Ethereum challenger’ coins to DeFi tokens, thanks to our partnership with Tokocrypto,” Richard said during a virtual press conference, Wednesday (18/9).

Aside from launching new coins, it also introduced crypto asset trading features, such as limit orders and stop limits. This feature allows more experienced traders to take advantage of the crypto asset prices volatility, as well as market momentum. Previously, Pluang could only trade using the final price in the market.

Richard said, this new feature is a tangible form of the company’s commitment to facilitate beginners and experienced traders. “Our investment platform will be ready to assist users in carrying out qualified trading strategies to determine the right time to enter and exit the market.”

Without mentioning the precise number, he also said Pluang users investing in crypto assets grew three times in the last quarter. The collaboration between Tokocrypto and Pluang has started since last June, until now, the number of Pluang users entering altcoins has grown significantly.

“We see that many of these investors have started trading and getting advanced from being beginners.”

The interest in investing in crypto assets has continued to grow in the last year. Based on Ministry of Trade’s data, the number of crypto asset investors in Indonesia exceeded 6.5 million people as of last May, or exceeded the number of stock investors of 2.4 million investors based on KSEI data.

The enthusiasm was driven by the younger generation massively transacting on crypto investment applications after seeing a sharp spike in crypto asset prices since the fourth quarter of 2020. From January to July 2021, for example, the value of Binance Coin has managed to grow 757%. On the other hand, the values ​​of Cardano and Polkadot have skyrocketed by 644% and 85%, respectively.

This number far exceeds the value of Bitcoin which only grew 43% in the same period. Moreover, altcoin transactions account for 70% of the total transaction volume in Indonesia when the peak of the crypto asset price rally occurred earlier this year.

It is said that Pluang’s users have exceeded 1 million people, while Tokocrypto’s has reached 900 thousand people. Among crypto asset traders in Indonesia, Indodax is the largest with more than four million users.

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Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian