Soon after El Salvador set the pace on crypto implementation within its borders, Southeast Asian country Vietnam is following suit.
According to The Phnom Post, the Vietnam prime minister (PM) Pham Minh Chinh has requested the country’s state bank to pilot crypto implementation. The pilot will supposedly run from 2021 to 2023 in preparation for the country implementing crypto payments.
Digital Money Is an Inevitable Trend: PM Pham Minh Chinh
The motivation behind Vietnam’s move is the increased use of cashless payments in the country. Since cryptocurrencies are undeniably a huge part of e-payments, Vietnam saw a need to begin studying the application of these digital coins.
Cryptocurrencies are still highly unregulated for the most part. The deputy director of the Institute of Innovation under the University of Economics HCM City cited this as part of the reason Vietnam requires a pilot before full adoption of crypto. Huynh Phuoc stated that the State Bank of Vietnam needs to understand both the advantages and the disadvantages of crypto while establishing a fitting regulatory mechanism for digital coins.
The pilot will extend the keen interest in crypto that Southeast Asian country Vietnam has developed recently. In May, the country’s Ministry of Finance also created a research group that was responsible for studying cryptocurrency regulations.
Precisely, the call for the State Bank of Vietnam to pilot crypto implementation is part of PM Chinh’s initiative of e-Government development. PM Chinh sees digital money as an inevitable trend, which Vietnam should hop on.
Vietnam is not only looking at cryptocurrencies but all transformative technologies. Cutting-edge processes such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, and augmented reality are things Vietnam is also taking a keen interest in.
Could Vietnam Be Having a Change of Heart on Its Stand on Crypto?
Although the exact plans Vietnam has with crypto are unclear, its move to conduct a pilot is still huge. Vietnam is showing a change of heart on its stand on cryptocurrencies. Back in 2017, Southeast Asian country Vietnam imposed a blanket ban on Bitcoin payments.
Vietnam argued that crypto transaction increases the occurrence of criminal activities such as money laundering, terrorism financing, and tax evasion. Its previous worries explain why it now stressing research and testing before diving into crypto transactions.
