Bali’s government is cracking down on tourists paying for goods and services using cryptocurrency, with the island’s governor sending a reminder that Indonesia’s fiat currency is the only legal tender.

On May 28, the government-owned news agency Antara reportedĀ that Bali Governor Wayan Koster hosted a press conference the same day and said tourists who ā€œuse crypto as a means of payment [...] will be dealt with firmly.ā€

ā€œStrict actions range from deportation, administrative sanctions, criminal penalties, closure of business premises and other tough sanctions,ā€ he added.

The meeting was attended by Bali’s chief police inspector and Trisno Nugroho, the head of the Bali Representative Office for Bank Indonesia — the country’s central bank.

Nugroho reaffirmed that trading crypto is allowed but the use of crypto for payments is banned.

Koster noted that Indonesia’s currency — the rupiah — is the only one that can be legally used for payments in the country. The use of other currencies carries a maximum potential sentence of one year in prison and a fine of 200 million rupiah ($13,000).

The Bali governor’s announcement comes days after a May 26 investigative report in Kompas, considered the country’s newspaper of record.