Vietnam has dropped from 3rd place in 2023 to 5th in 2024 on the Global Crypto Acceptance Index. This decline is mainly due to increasing competition from regional countries like Indonesia, which has accelerated the acceptance of organizations and established clearer legal frameworks. Although Vietnam has seen a slight increase in centralized service values, its position in DeFi remains unchanged, indicating a slower Web 3 development pace compared to neighboring countries.
The 2024 Electronic Money Acceptance Index of Chainalysis in Southeast Asia and India
Laws in Vietnam related to crypto.
According to the draft, managing digital assets includes regulations on ownership rights, transfer, and use of digital assets; regulations on taxes, finance; international cooperation and information sharing; regulations on security, information safety, cybersecurity, intellectual property, consumer protection; lifecycle management; risk prevention, control, and management.
In addition, the bill needs to supplement regulations on ownership rights, inheritance, and use; security measures, transactions of digital assets, handling user complaints, and protecting intellectual property rights in accordance with international practices, facilitating transactions; anti-money laundering and market transparency.
The government assigned the Ministry of Finance to study and develop a legal framework to ban or regulate virtual assets and organizations providing these services, to be completed by May 2025. This aims to mitigate risks related to money laundering and terrorism financing associated with these types of assets.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh raised the issue that it is time to manage Bitcoin in Vietnam
During the National Assembly's discussion on digital technology, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the necessity of enacting a Digital Technology Industry Law, while also promoting the motto of 'doing while learning,' ensuring the process is not rushed but also not overly perfectionist.
The Prime Minister stated that currently 'the real life is like the virtual life.' And raised the question of why, despite Bitcoin's skyrocketing value and the existence of Bitcoin transactions in our country, it is not brought under management?
Many National Assembly delegates emphasized the need for clear regulations on digital assets
On November 30, during the 8th session of the National Assembly, many delegates participated in contributing opinions on the draft Digital Technology Industry Law:
- Delegate Hoang Minh Hieu (Nghe An delegation):
• Vietnam ranks TOP2 in the world in terms of digital asset ownership rate, with about 20 million people and 120 billion USD in cryptocurrency each year. 'Therefore, if we do not have a legal framework for this form of ownership, we will overlook a very important aspect of developing the digital economy,' Mr. Hieu said.
• It is proposed to clearly classify digital assets and provide separate regulations for each type. For example, there should be different regulations for cryptocurrencies, and different regulations for digital assets or virtual assets in the digital ecosystem.
- Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (Tra Vinh delegation):
• It is proposed to add more specific examples of digital assets such as digital intellectual property, NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and digital assets related to big data. This helps illustrate the scope of application and avoid misunderstandings.
• It is necessary to clarify the difference between encrypted assets and other digital assets, while emphasizing that encrypted assets can include both utility tokens and security tokens.
- Delegate Be Trung Anh (Tra Vinh delegation)
• Vietnam has a digital society, a digital government, and especially a digital economy. If we want to have a healthy digital economy, then digital economic transactions must be based on legal regulations.
• The draft law has defined digital assets, but there is still no definition for digital currency. 'Should we trade digital assets with real money?' a delegate raised the issue and suggested the need for a concept of 'digital currency' for management.
The draft Digital Technology Industry Law consists of 8 chapters and 73 articles, which have been presented to the National Assembly for the first time at the 8th session and is expected to be approved by the National Assembly in 2025.
