Vietnam’s Finance Ministry not keen on regulating Cryptocurrencies

The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance has iterated that there is currently no legislation regarding the issuance and/or trading of cryptocurrency assets in the country and as such, activities involving crypto trading are profoundly discouraged.

A local news agency has reported that the Vietnamese financial authorities vehemently discouraged citizens from trading any form of virtual currency or virtual assets, noting that any commercial activities regarding the trading of securities are to be carried out by the two exchanges in the country: Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and Hanoi Stock Exchange.

The Ministry of Finance stated, “Vietnam has not adopted any legislation related to the issuance, trading, and exchange of virtual currencies and virtual assets”. The authorities also deemed it necessary to emphasize the fact that virtual assets are not part of the securities laws of the country, having no regulations of any sort.

In view of the directives from the financial authorities, the State Securities Commission—the subsidiary organization under the Finance Ministry of Vietnam in charge of regulation and supervision of securities—has been liaising with the police in the bid to combat the illegal trading of virtual currencies through online platforms in the country.

The SSC has also discouraged financial establishments from providing platforms or the opportunity for the trading of cryptocurrency whether directly or indirectly.

These directives are coming amidst the increasing number of crypto enthusiasts in the country, especially users on the Pi Network – a new unvalued cryptocurrency created by three Stanford Ph.D. grads: Dr. Nikkolas Kokkalis, Dr. Chengdiao Fan, and Vincent McPhillips. There is a lot of patent dubiety of the Pi Cryptocurrency due to reports of its shadowy nature by crypto experts.

In an attempt at addressing the situation and the gap that these directives have created in the country, the Ministry of Finance has launched a team of experts to make research on the crypto industry and subsequently come up with regulatory measures for cryptocurrencies in the country. The authorities have also noted the need to educate the populace on the risks involved in trading and investing in cryptocurrencies.

A Communist country in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has joined her neighbors in the Asian continent to put stringent restrictions on virtual assets. While the rest of the world is slowly embracing the trend of virtual currencies, China has declared war on bitcoin mining and India sought to place restrictions on cryptocurrencies in the country, although the move is likely to be reconsidered owing to the statement of the Indian finance minister about fostering innovation in crypto.

It remains to be seen whether or not the established research team tasked with investigating the Crypto industry will suggest policies in favor of the investment of cryptocurrencies in the country.

From the case in Nigeria, we have seen that a ban on an activity that has otherwise been considered commonplace by the populace would oftentimes only encourage the creation of illegal backdoors towards engaging in it.