Vietnamese Government and Central Bank Developing Legal Framework for Crypto

Vietnam is creating a legal framework for cryptocurrency. The country’s deputy prime minister has instructed the Ministries of Finance, Justice, and Information & Communications to work with the central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam, on the framework.

• Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai reportedly notified three ministries last week instructing them to work with the central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam, and other relevant bodies to build a legal framework for cryptocurrencies. The three ministries are Finance, Justice, and Information & Communications.
• The deputy prime minister has tasked the Ministry of Finance with the prime responsibility of reaching an agreement with other regulatory bodies and the central bank to identify specific pieces of legislation that need to be amended, supplemented, and promulgated as well as recommending a specific time frame for implementation.
• The legal framework for crypto will be created according to the details laid out in Decision 1255, issued by the Vietnamese prime minister on Aug. 21, 2017. Decision 1255 approves a plan to develop a legal framework for the management and handling of “virtual assets, digital currencies, and virtual currencies.”
• A few proposals to regulate crypto were put forward in November 2018 but no decision was made. Reports indicated that Vietnamese regulators did not share a common view on how to regulate cryptocurrency.

• According to a government report on the implementation of Decision 1255 dated Feb. 17, 2021, the Ministry of Finance had established a study group on crypto assets with the aim to make recommendations on the legal framework for the supervision of crypto issuance and trading activities.
• Meanwhile, crypto ownership in Vietnam has grown significantly over the past years. Research by Triple A shows that over 5.9 million people, or 6.1% of the total population of Vietnam, currently own cryptocurrency. A survey by Finder.com shows Vietnamese respondents having the highest percentage of crypto ownership.

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