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Vietnam to Asses Cryptocurrency Development Through Central Bank

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Nikkei Asia reported that the government of Vietnam has assigned its central bank in the R&D of its very own blockchain-based digital currency. The policy came forth in Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s Decision 942, which outlined the government’s approach to digitalizing the country with virtual currency based on blockchain technology by 2030.

Prior to this policy announcement, Vietnam wasn’t laid back in its cryptocurrency regulations as making purchases using cryptocurrencies is illegal. In 2018, Vietnam’s financial institutions were ordered to stop providing services to crypto-based consumers, and the then finance minister has also proposed to outlaw imports of crypto mining equipment the same year.
The country is known as one of the top three globally, in the percentage of people claiming that they hold some form of crypto asset (by Statista). There were also shops around the capital City that accept bitcoins as a way to attract customers.
The piloting of digital currency is not a replacement for the country’s paper banknotes, nor is it a green flag for crypto-enthusiasts to use as a means of tender. Instead, the government has declared that cryptocurrencies remain as a non-legal bid for any marketplace. Some experts think that the policy is a means for the government to regulate the blockchain-based currency.

According to Nikkei, Binh Nguyen Thanh, a coordinator at RMIT University Vietnam’s FinTech-Crypto Hub, said that the government authorities will have more control over the virtual money than having it be left to decentralized software and private enterprises. Thanh quoted, “I think they will look at how the experiment in other countries goes.” As back in October 2020 last year, Cambodia launched a state-backed digital coin called “Bakong,” while neighboring countries like Cina and Thailand are reported to have similar thoughts.

He further explained that in Vietnam, cryptocurrency is as it is, will remain in the grey area of an obscured regulation. Dabbling in bitcoin and applying it as a means of payment is a violation of the law and may be subjected to administrative or criminal sanctions.

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