Hundreds of billions of dollars floating around the crypto-asset and virtual currency market

Experts attend a discussion at the workshop on centralized crypto asset management and operation on March 27 in Hanoi - Photo: B.NGOC

The information was given by Mr. Phan Duc Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain Association (VBA), at a workshop sharing experiences in managing and operating centralized crypto-asset exchanges, organized by the association on March 27 in Hanoi.

17 million Vietnamese people own virtual and encrypted assets

According to Mr. Trung, we call crypto-asset transactions the gray economy, with capital flowing into the Vietnamese crypto-asset market reaching hundreds of billions of USD every year. There are more than 1 million e-wallets used by Vietnamese people in the virtual asset and crypto-asset trading market.

Therefore, this person believes that establishing virtual asset and crypto asset exchanges to develop a healthy and sustainable financial system is very necessary at this time.

Sharing about the need to pilot a centralized crypto asset trading floor in Vietnam, Mr. Tran Huyen Dinh - Chairman of the Fintech Application Committee (under VBA) - said that about 6% of the world's population participates in trading on the virtual asset market, with a trading scale of about 200 billion USD/day.

Vietnam ranks 7th in the world in virtual asset and crypto asset transactions, with a market size of about 105 billion USD and about 17 million Vietnamese people own crypto assets and virtual assets.

Mr. Dinh said that the Government has been continuously promoting the development of new technology industries. The draft Law on Digital Technology Industry is expected to be passed by the National Assembly in May 2025.

At the same time, the Government is assigning the Ministry of Finance to preside over and coordinate with the State Bank to pilot the construction of a digital asset trading floor in March 2025.

According to Mr. Dinh, although there is no legal framework, there are about 20 crypto-asset and virtual asset trading floors operating underground in Vietnam. The current law does not prohibit it and the floors are operating in a gray area, without a specific legal entity, only representatives of market development groups in Vietnam.

Mr. Tran Huyen Dinh, Chairman of the Fintech Application Committee, shared at the workshop - Photo: B.NGOC

Preventing fraud in the virtual asset market

According to VBA, Vietnam has not yet had a system to monitor the crypto asset market, and crypto asset-related scams have increased sharply. In 2024, many scams were recorded, but some international exchanges refused to cooperate and participate in tracing with domestic authorities.

To limit fraud in the virtual asset market, VBA believes that stricter management is needed through the development of regulations on the operation of exchanges. In addition, it is necessary to accelerate the pilot of centralized virtual asset trading floors in Vietnam.

Mr. Dinh said that establishing a centralized virtual asset exchange will achieve many goals.

It is a step-by-step process of identifying the underground economy and distinguishing between clean and dirty money.

Attract international investors to Vietnam, pull Vietnamese investors back to the domestic market.

Mobilizing through the virtual asset market, crypto assets, the global crypto asset flow is estimated to be about 16,000 billion USD by 2030.

Furthermore, the pilot establishment of a virtual asset trading floor will help people expand new asset investment channels, businesses reduce compliance costs, legal risks, and attract foreign investment capital.

While the regulatory agency promotes the development of the digital economy, gradually prevents illegal money flows, and collects taxes more effectively with the crypto asset market.

Speaking at the workshop, Lieutenant Colonel Duong Duc Hung, Deputy Head of the Counter-Terrorism Department, Department of Internal Security (Ministry of Public Security), emphasized that blockchain technology and crypto assets are changing the way the economy operates.

So far, through professional work, no terrorist financing has been detected in the crypto-asset market, but the risk is very high. Terrorists have recently infiltrated Vietnam, with the risk of turning Vietnam into a money transfer hub through the crypto-asset market, Mr. Hung added.

To prevent this, Mr. Hung proposed building a clear and comprehensive legal framework, clearly defining the legal responsibilities of exchanges in preventing money laundering.

Establish an interdisciplinary task force to monitor suspicious transactions related to cryptocurrencies, applying advanced surveillance technology to track and trace when necessary.

Establish a centralized monitoring system managed by the Ministry of Public Security or the State Bank to monitor crypto-asset transactions.

Mr. To Tran Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Securities Market Development, State Securities Commission:

"The Government will issue a resolution on piloting the establishment of a domestic virtual asset exchange." The Ministry of Finance assigned the State Securities Commission to draft a Government resolution on piloting the establishment of a virtual asset and crypto asset exchange.

This draft is built based on international models and standards to effectively operate and manage the crypto asset market.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hang-tram-ti-usd-troi-noi-tren-thi-truong-tai-san-ma-hoa-tien-ao-20250327124006092.htm