Government strengthens management, is Bitcoin still legal in Vietnam?

Since the alleged fraud of MLM ICO projects that scammed 32,000 Vietnamese out of 15 trillion VND, the VietNam government has tightened the management on Bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies. Concerns and questions have been raised whether or not Bitcoin still remains legitimate in Viet Nam.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been officially not recognized by the State Bank since early 2018. Following that, any acts of issuing, distributing, using Bitcoin as a means of legal payment will be subjected to criminal prosecution, with fines up to $9000 (in accordance with Article 206 of the Penal Code 2015, amended and supplemented in 2017).

Most recently, according to the official announcement on 12/4/2018, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has “assigned The Ministry of Public Security to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and other related ministries and agencies to investigate, detect, prevent, and deal with violations related to financial mobilization and multi-level activities and fraudulent manner on the Internet via virtual money, impersonating investment and trading virtual currency”.

Government strengthens management, is Bitcoin still legal in Vietnam?

Vietnamese traders continue asking whether or not any Bitcoin trading, especially owning would be at risk of being prosecuted for criminal liability. For a proper answer to this problem, investors need to pay closer attention to what the government said:

“According to the statement, the government does not allow the act of issuing, distributing, using Bitcoin as a means of legal payment. However, the government regulations do not mention the purchase/sale of Bitcoin on international exchange platforms, as well as the ownership of Bitcoin by individuals and organizations. Additionally, Bitcoin is considered a virtual property and managed by the state as a valuable asset.”

In other words, the government only aim to strengthen the management to limit the fraud, and investors, without the purpose of using Bitcoin for legal payments, can continue trading, stocking, transferring and exchanging Bitcoin into cash on entrusted exchanges without being considered illegal.

The same method has also been applied by many other governments. Most countries have officially not accepted Bitcoin as a legal means of payment and issue risk warnings to traders such as Thailand, Russia, France, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Norway,…

It is possible to trade Bitcoin in Viet Nam. However, along with the government’s strengthened management, investors should be more cautious with the risk of fraud in the market. A well-done research and deep understanding are essential for avoiding conflicts, confronting the prospect of criminal prosecution and even falling to the second trillion scam.

Copyright by Remitano