Indonesia Says Era of IP Tokenization Is Coming as Creative Works Evolve Into Investment Assets

Muhammad Neil El Himam, deputy for digital and technology innovation at Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy, said the convergence of the intellectual property industry and blockchain technology will create a new economic structure.

Speaking in a keynote address at Southeast Asia Blockchain Week 2026 at Bangkok’s ICONSIAM on May 21, Neil presented on “From Creative Economy to On-Chain Economy: How Indonesia Is Turning IP Into an Investment-Grade Asset.” The global economy has progressed from agriculture to industry to information and is now moving into the creative economy era, he said. Intellectual property is a core asset that generates long-term economic value.

Neil cited Pokemon and Indonesian domestic IP projects to illustrate the sector’s growth potential. Pokemon began as a game and grew into a global IP franchise worth more than $100 billion, he said. Indonesia’s Tahilalats IP project also recorded $8 million in sales in a single day through NFT sales.

He added that new infrastructure is needed for the IP industry to develop into a financial asset class. The financial sector lacks both a standardized framework for valuing IP and the specialists needed to support it. Blockchain is a key technology that can improve the transparency and traceability of IP assets while expanding liquidity.

Tokenization can give IP greater access to global markets and create new fundraising opportunities. Smart contracts can also automate royalty distribution, licensing agreements and collateral management, Neil said.

Indonesia’s government is also pushing to build a blockchain-based IP ecosystem. The country ranks seventh on the global crypto adoption index, with more than 20 million people participating in the virtual asset market, according to Neil. After experiments involving real-world assets tied to real estate, gold and bonds, IP tokenization is set to become another key sector.

The government and financial authorities are supporting Web3 projects through the Infinity Accelerator Program, including efforts to tokenize IP and build on-chain royalty systems. Indonesia is preparing for a blockchain-based creative economy era, he said.