If the state can manage the cryptocurrency market, in addition to collecting taxes for the budget, it can also be used to develop technology.
At the recent National Assembly discussion session on the draft Law on Digital Technology Industry, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that currently, "what is real life is like virtual life". The Prime Minister raised the question: "Bitcoin in the world is currently worth nearly 3,000 billion USD. In fact, Bitcoin transactions are still happening in our country, but why are they not put under management?".
Very large scale
Bitcoin and many other digital currencies have been around for decades but have not been recognized in Vietnam. Our country also does not have legal regulations related to the issuance, purchase, sale and exchange of these assets. However, investment and trading activities in digital currencies in Vietnam are very active.
On forums and financial investment groups, topics related to Bitcoin investment are being discussed enthusiastically, especially when this digital currency has a record growth streak and is heading towards the 100,000 USD mark.
Statistics released by cryptocurrency payment gateway Triple-A in mid-2024 showed that the UAE leads the world in terms of cryptocurrency ownership by its people, with 34.4%. Vietnam ranks second with 21.2% of its population owning cryptocurrency - higher than the US, in third place (15.6%).
Bitcoin is currently the most popular digital asset in the virtual currency market. Photo: PHAM DINH
According to a report compiled by Chainalysis (a leading company in the digital asset industry, headquartered in the US), in 2023-2024, Vietnam will be the country with the most people adopting cryptocurrency assets, with more than 20 million investors and a huge capital of 120 billion USD - ranked 4th.
Investors are mainly young people (18-36), concentrated in big cities such as Ho Chi Minh City (50%-54%), Hanoi (25%-30%), Da Nang (3%-5%). In addition, Chainalysis' report also said that in 2023-2024, 35.9% of Vietnamese investors made a profit, 44.5% of investors lost money and 19.6% broke even from Crypto investments.
This explains why most of the world's major cryptocurrency exchanges operate in Vietnam, such as Binance, Bybit, OKX, Kucoin... These exchanges all have Vietnamese interfaces, users can easily create accounts when they only need gmail, phone number, and link to a bank account number to be able to trade. These exchanges have a trading volume of billions of USD per day, Binance alone can reach more than 100 billion USD at peak times.
On social networks such as Facebook, Zalo and X, many communities exchanging information about cryptocurrencies are very active. Users only need to enter the keywords Crypto, Bitcoin... and many groups with a large number of participants will appear. Among them, there are groups with up to nearly 1 million members. They continuously share articles about the potential of the cryptocurrency market and call on users to participate in investing to make a profit during the "uptrend" season.
Mainly swing trading
Mr. Phan Duc Nhat, Chairman of Coin.Help & BHO. Network, said that people, especially investors born in the 80s and 90s, often invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for speculative purposes, hoping to make a profit when the coins increase in price. Only a few of them invest in Bitcoin to accumulate assets (like gold).
However, Vietnamese law does not recognize cryptocurrencies and there are no regulations on the use of cryptocurrencies or any virtual assets to pay instead of VND. Therefore, when wanting to pay for goods, investors must convert from cryptocurrencies to Vietnamese currency for convenience. The common form of conversion is P2P - one person sells to another.
However, because many people buy, sell, and exchange cryptocurrencies based on trends and lack knowledge, losses, damages, and even fraud still often occur. Mr. Hoang Khai, an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City, said he went on Facebook to find cryptocurrency groups and was guided to invest to make a profit, but ended up "losing everything".
"I was guided by a person to register and deposit money into the wallet on the Onus exchange. Initially, I deposited 50,000 VND, and the exchange gave me 200,000 VND but I could not withdraw it within 1 year. Trading using the Future method, I initially "won" about 150,000 VND. After that, I deposited 5 million VND to trade but my "account was burned". I deposited another 10 million VND but still got nothing. When I understood how to play, I lost 15 million VND in less than 3 days" - Mr. Khai sadly said.
According to Coin98 Insight's Vietnam Crypto Market Report, in 2023, the number of new Vietnamese investors participating in the Bing X exchange increased by about 138% compared to the previous year, reaching 143,025 people. However, nearly 65% of them did not make a profit and 43% lost money.
Tax loss and fraud
According to financial expert Phan Dung Khanh, statistics published by a number of international financial organizations show that Vietnamese people are at the top of countries holding digital assets, including Bitcoin.
Unofficial data also shows that Vietnamese people have accounts on international exchanges for digital assets higher than securities accounts and trade in large quantities... Therefore, if the state can manage it, in addition to collecting taxes for the budget, it can also be used to develop technology.
"Currently, although Vietnam does not have specific regulations on digital assets, related digital technology is not prohibited. Vietnam already has a Blockchain Association. The data they published in 2021-2022 shows that our country recorded the value of digital assets of about 91 billion USD, illegal digital assets of about 956 million USD are not high. Therefore, it is necessary to soon have laws, regulations and legal frameworks to manage these digital assets" - Mr. Phan Dung Khanh proposed.
Mr. Phan Dung Khanh said that due to the lack of a clear legal framework, investors rushing to invest in cryptocurrencies will have many potential risks. Because investing in cryptocurrencies as well as investing in foreign exchange on international exchanges (FX), there are no clear management regulations in Vietnam, if an incident occurs, there will be no legal protection.
Cryptocurrency exchanges do not have offices or branches in Vietnam, so not only does the government lose tax revenue, but investors also do not know who to turn to to claim their rights when problems arise. All information about cryptocurrency exchanges and Bitcoin investment platforms is on cyberspace, with very high financial leverage and large daily fluctuations...
"Another risk is fraud. Because it is in cyberspace, investors may encounter fraudulent trading floors and not know where to claim their rights," Mr. Khanh worried.
From a macro perspective, the digital economy is considered the focus of Vietnam's economic development. In the digital economy, there is a branch of digital assets. Economist, Dr. Dinh The Hien analyzed: If the digital economy has been developed, digital assets are something that needs to be mentioned and managed, especially when the Politburo has just approved the policy of developing two international financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Why have Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies been traded in Vietnam in recent times but not been managed?
Dr. Dinh The Hien believes that it is necessary to consider putting Bitcoin in particular and digital assets under management right now. From 2025 onwards, with strategies on digital economy and orientations to build international financial centers, while in the world this market has developed stably..., Vietnam will need regulations to manage digital assets and digital currencies appropriately.
The state management agency also mentioned the pilot testing mechanism (sandbox) for financial technology companies (fintech), and the upcoming testing mechanisms in the process of building an international financial center. The current steps are in line with the process of both management and development and limit risks and consequences for digital money, digital assets, etc.
"If included in the legal framework, it is necessary to select exchanges with digital currencies that are licensed, managed and taxed by the state. Recently, besides Bitcoin and Ethereum bringing profits, many investors have suffered heavy losses due to other virtual currencies, even fake ones" - Dr. Dinh The Hien warned.
According to Mr. Phan Duc Nhat, in Vietnam, there are very few training groups with in-depth analysis skills for Crypto and Bitcoin. If there are, these groups usually operate privately, and only acquaintances or capable people are allowed to participate.
Therefore, to get information and know how to trade, many people choose to join groups on social networks. Most groups are free to join, only a few have to pay fees, but the quality of teaching and investment is very unstable.
(To be continued)
Source: https://nld.com.vn/da-den-luc-phai-quan-ly-tien-so-196241129210239077.htm
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