In 2017, the Prime Minister of the Government signed Decision No. 1255/QD-TTg approving the Project to improve the legal framework for the management and handling of virtual assets, cryptocurrencies, and virtual currency.
Accordingly, the Government assigned relevant ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the State Bank… to coordinate research and propose the construction of policies framework. However, until now, the legal framework for virtual assets, cryptocurrencies, and virtual currency has not been established.
 Bitcoin is currently the most popular virtual currency in the world (Illustration) |
Recently, the Ministry of Finance – one of the assigned agencies responsible for review and research – provided information on this issue. Mr. Hoang Van Thu, Vice Chairman of the State Securities Commission (SSC), stated that his agency has been assigned by the Ministry of Finance to lead and coordinate with Ministries and Departments to research and build regulations on virtual currency and virtual assets.
Recently, the State Securities Commission has gathered opinions from relevant ministries and units. However, according to Mr. Thu, the opinions on virtual assets and virtual currency “are still unclear”. Therefore, accessing and constructing a legal framework for these assets still encounters difficulties and obstacles.
Mr. Thu emphasized that this is a relatively sensitive field compared to other economic and social management activities, especially crime prevention activities, requiring extremely cautious research methods.
For example, to date, the concept of virtual assets and virtual currency is still not clear. There is no unified concept on this issue in the world. Each country has different approaches, so the application of international practices is also complicated.
From the perspective of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Thu believed that it is difficult to propose a comprehensive and complete policy on virtual assets and virtual currency. It requires a more comprehensive and inclusive study.
Therefore, Vice Chairman of the State Securities Commission informed the Ministry of Finance to propose the establishment of an interagency task force to review and research the construction of a legal framework for virtual assets and virtual currency.
According to Mr. Hoang Van Thu, currently, the State Securities Commission is contacting and exchanging information with a major virtual currency exchange in the world, Binance, to obtain more information and approaches to virtual currency. According to him, Binance is currently trading over 200 virtual currency and virtual asset listings.
Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi also acknowledged that virtual currency and virtual assets are not new issues, but they are difficult problems with many risks that require comprehensive evaluation. According to Mr. Chi, there are countries that recognize virtual currency and virtual assets and allow transactions, but this is a difficult and complicated issue because our legal system does not currently recognize them as assets. Therefore, a thorough research process is needed for this type of asset.
In addition to recommending the establishment of an interagency task force, Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi stated that the Ministry of Finance will actively review and research for the competent authorities to develop a tight legal framework, ensuring state management activities.
Minh Chien
