In May, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in Vietnam proposed o temporarily ban the import of cryptocurrency mining machines in a move to avoid harming local consumers. This proposal is gathering steam in the Asian country as the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) agrees with the move.
The MoIT sought the SBV coordination in research and comments on the management of cryptocurrencies in the country leading to the central bank to throw its weight behind the proposal.
Coming from the President
The decision to go after cryptocurrency miners in Vietnam originated with Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng who said that relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and SBV, look into the importing of such machines, as well as their management and current legal regulations.
The view on cryptocurrencies in Vietnam is not positive. The Ministry of Finance has scrutinized the digital currency situation and as such made it difficult to get mining equipment in already. Miners may not be banned as of yet, but the difficulty in managing them when they do arrive is making authorities nervous.
Worried about scams
Vietnam has been subject to two of the bigger cryptocurrency scams in the past, that of Ifan and Pincoin. This case was stated by the Ministry of Finance when reporting back as to the dangers of cryptocurrencies that are not managed.
Thus, it is the belief of the agencies that the way to protect the citizens from similar scams is to have the state manages cryptocurrencies, including mining, and the equipment used for mining
According to data from the General Department of Customs, Viet Nam imported about 15,600 mining machines from 2017 to April this year.
Picking up momentum
While this is still only a proposal, it seems that it will soon become regulation in Vietnam. Each country has their own way of protecting their citizens from any dangers to do with cryptocurrency, and, because of its global nature, the banning of equipment in the country is at least a tangible step for the state.
It is unclear if this will indeed help or add to the protection of citizens, but the governmental agencies have taken a negative stance and will be honing in where they can.
Arman Shirinyan
Alex Dovbnya
