Vietnam wants to regulate digital currencies and opens a cryptographic research group

Vietnam wants to enter the cryptocurrency industry. Indeed, the government opened a research group for this purpose just recently. The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance is conducting an in-depth study on cryptocurrencies for regulatory purposes.

One million Vietnamese are reportedly crypto users

According to the ASEAN Briefing, the ministry tries to gather enough data to clearly see how a regulatory process can be accomplished in the country. The research comes in the wake of the boom in virtual currencies globally in terms of popularity, the announcement says.

The government estimates that around one million Vietnamese already use digital assets and expectations are bullish with a 30-fold increase by 2030.

Vietnam is also seeing the rise of cashless payment solutions, such as QR codes, e-wallets and mobile apps. That technology adoption was boosted after the government pushed through the prime minister from 2017, who expected to cut cash transactions by 90% in 2020.

The study will focus on the following topics, focusing on existing legal frameworks in the United States, Japan and Europe:

“Understanding the cryptocurrency industry; Recognize the existence of cryptocurrencies by changing the current law; Building transparent, predictable and efficient regulations; Build responsive legislation regarding high market variability; (…) Recommend structural adjustments by creating mechanisms to monitor the cryptocurrency market through competent control bodies; (…) Recommend tools to these supervisory bodies, in particular powers to issue, suspend or revoke licenses, regulate commercial practices and report suspicious activities ".

Cryptographic crimes "on the rise" in Vietnam

However, the country's desires to regulate the digital currency environment go hand in hand with government concerns about cryptocurrency-related crimes, including computer hacks and scams.

The announcement cites the case of Modern Tech, a national startup that swindled around $ 660 million to thousands of Vietnamese through initial coin offerings (ICOs). Adding:

“Therefore, implementing a legal device to manage and manage virtual resources is Vietnam's current challenge. It would also define limits on abusive cryptocurrency transactions, which is the government's main concern. "

As of press time, Vietnam does not recognize cryptocurrencies as a legal means of payment or as a tangible asset. In fact, the State Bank of Vietnam has labeled bitcoin (quotation BTC) and other digital currencies as illegal and people who use them for trading purposes could be subject to fines of up to $ 8.700 and jail time.

Unfortunately, online scams are not only on the rise in Vietnam, but around the world. For this reason, we always recommend doing some research before investing your money. Remembering that cryptocurrencies can both be bought and exchanged through trading. And what do you think of this announcement from Vietnam? Let us know in the comments section below.