After temporary bans and after being on the fence about crypto in general, Vietnam finally opted to go with an outright ban of cryptocurrencies.
More precisely, according to a report of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC), the ruling targets public companies that are issuing, transacting, or brokering any form of cryptocurrency.
The announcement has been further carried out by the government-affiliated newspaper Viet Nam News. “SSC banned public companies, securities companies, fund management companies and securities investment funds from taking part in the activities, and required them to obey legal regulations on anti-money laundering,” the publication noted.
Vietnam has made various headlines during the course of this year, most of which were in regards to its policies against all-things-cryptocurrency. Earlier in April, the State Bank of Vietnam has terminated support for cryptocurrency mining equipment. Interestingly enough, for the time being at least, cryptocurrency mining is not illegal in Vietnam, even though this will most like change in the following months.
The State Bank of Vietnam has also banned commercial banks and payment service provides from transacting using cryptocurrencies by hinting that such activities are usually associated with money laundering, fraud, tax evasion, and even financial terrorism.
Vietnam’s decision to ban cryptocurrencies is not surprising
This ban comes after the country has experienced two massive ICO scams. Not long after the two scams, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, issued a directive to various government institutions advising them to act accordingly and enforce new rules and regulations involving cryptocurrencies.
Overall, SSC’s decision is hardly surprising, since the country’s leaders seem to be fairly hostile against the crypto industry. Be that as it may, considering just how much the crypto industry is changing on a daily basis, the situation may very well take a turn for the better sometime in the future.
