UMS Students Win Silver Medal at IPITEX Thailand with QryptoPay Innovation

Another proud achievement has been recorded by students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) on the international stage. The QryptoPay team from the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) and the Faculty of Communication and Informatics (FKI) at UMS successfully won a silver medal at the International Intellectual Property, Invention, Innovation and Technology Exposition (IPITEX) held in Thailand.

The award was earned through an innovative Hybrid Crypto & QR Payment platform with real-time conversion that complies with Indonesian regulations.

The QryptoPay team is led by Gunawan Hafiz Januar, with team members Muhammad Wahyu Jati, Wahyu Reihan Nur Khabib, and Satria Maulana Hidayat, under the direct supervision of Dr. Aflit Nuryulia Praswati, S.E., M.M. He explained that QryptoPay is an innovation-based Centralized Exchange (CEX) designed to bridge crypto assets with the everyday economic activities of the public.

“QryptoPay comes with a dual-wallet architecture and integration with the national QRIS system to execute the automatic conversion of crypto assets into Rupiah instantly. With this mechanism, transactions remain legal, fast, and transparent,” he said, Saturday (17/1/2026).

The QryptoPay innovation was born out of concern over a phenomenon that Gunawan refers to as “trapped wealth.” According to him, more than 20 million crypto investors in Indonesia hold assets worth trillions of rupiah that have tended to remain static due to complicated and time-consuming withdrawal processes.

“In fact, if this digital liquidity could circulate quickly, the impact would be enormous for the real economy, especially for MSMEs. QryptoPay is designed to channel digital funds directly into the people’s economy through Rupiah,” he explained.

The main advantage of QryptoPay lies in its real-time conversion capability, supported by an off-chain market maker–based Auto-Liquidation Engine. Through this system, the conversion of digital assets into rupiah can be completed within milliseconds, allowing the user experience to resemble that of conventional digital wallet transactions.

On the other hand, regulatory compliance is the primary foundation of QryptoPay’s development. Gunawan emphasized that the platform fully safeguards the integrity of the rupiah in accordance with Bank Indonesia’s mandate, positions crypto as a commodity under the supervision of Bappebti, and integrates automatic tax deductions in line with Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 68 of 2022.

“Innovation and regulation do not have to collide. At QryptoPay, the two actually work in synergy to create security for users while also making a tangible contribution to the state,” he said.

Furthermore, Gunawan believes that QryptoPay is present to address liquidity barriers in Indonesia. Referring to Irving Fisher’s theory of money circulation, he noted that accelerating the velocity of money is a key driver of economic growth.

By connecting crypto assets directly to the MSME sector, QryptoPay is expected to create a more evenly distributed economic trickle-down effect.

QryptoPay’s journey to appearing at IPITEX Thailand was inseparable from various challenges. Gunawan stated that the team had to integrate the complexity of blockchain technology with Indonesia’s strict national payment system, while simultaneously building strong cybersecurity and reducing transaction latency to a minimal level.

“Before the international jury, we did not only present technology, but also proved that QryptoPay is a realistic, sustainable, and legally compliant solution,” he said.

According to Gunawan, the success in winning the Silver Medal at IPITEX was driven by three main factors: the novelty of the innovation as Indonesia’s first hybrid CEX and QRIS platform, the speed and efficiency of real-time transactions, and regulatory compliance that has a direct impact on strengthening the MSME economy.

This achievement holds strategic significance for UMS. Gunawan considers the accomplishment a validation that UMS student research is capable of moving beyond the academic sphere and emerging as a futuristic solution at the global level.

“This is recognition that the educational ecosystem at UMS has developed into a world-class innovation incubator capable of producing pioneers of the future,” he said.

Going forward, Gunawan is committed to building a collaborative ecosystem within UMS as a shared space for student growth. He aims to cultivate a culture of knowledge sharing and peer mentoring among high-achieving students so that innovation does not stop with a single individual.

“I do not want to shine alone. True success is when we can grow together and open pathways for others,” he emphasized.

To UMS students, Gunawan conveyed a message not to fear doubt and failure. According to him, courage does not mean the absence of fear, but continuing to move forward despite it.

“Do not let anxiety stop your steps. Find companions to grow with and turn the problems around you into real solutions. UMS students must dare to go global with a spirit of collaboration,” he concluded.

Writer: Dwi Kurniadi

Editor: Fika Annisa Sholihah

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid