On Monday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged for new regulations to control the cryptocurrency industry in a discussion group. Chinh expressed his frustration that although virtual assets are not recognised, individuals nevertheless exchange them. According to a local newspaper, he was debating changes to the nation’s anti-money-laundering law.
The governor of the nation’s central bank (State Bank of Vietnam), as well as the minister of justice, have come under pressure from lawmakers to clarify their positions on virtual currency and blockchain technology.
According to Huy Nguyen, deputy head of the Vietnam Blockchain Association (VBA), virtual assets are now used in Vietnam in legal limbo with numerous policy ideas in the works.
As a first step toward recognising virtual assets as property, the VBA is collaborating with the National Assembly to establish a virtual-asset tax, according to Nguyen. “Institutional money will come in” after that, he said.
Duong Van Phuoc, a representative in the nation’s National Assembly, said last month that virtual assets should be covered by a proposed law since they are used by large-scale gambling and money-laundering organisations. The State Bank of Vietnam was given the go-ahead to launch a crypto pilot programme by the Vietnamese government last year. Additionally, it listed blockchain as one of the top technologies for research and development as part of its national policy for the fourth industrial revolution.
With almost two out of every ten domestic users or owners of cryptocurrencies between 2019 and 2022, Vietnam is considered among the top 10 nations that have accepted cryptocurrencies most swiftly. The 2022 Global Crypto Use Index from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis places the nation first in the globe for widespread crypto adoption. In Vietnam, 69.% of people lack bank accounts, yet 73.5% of adults use smartphones.
As a result of the surge in cryptocurrency trading and usage in Vietnam, regulators are actively working to tighten the legal framework to address issues related to the new asset class. New regulations are expected to be unveiled soon to address issues like the use of cryptocurrencies to fund terrorism, launder money, and ensure proper crypto management.