The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV); the country’s central bank, has adopted the Finance Minister’s call for a prohibition on the importation of cryptocurrency mining rigs.
SBV Sides with MoF and MoIT
In June 2018, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) called for a ban on the importation of cryptocurrency mining rigs. The call came after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc mandated state officials to develop stricter regulations for the market.
The MoF determined that cryptocurrency mining hardware, though not on the list of contraband materials, provided a means for people in the country to use virtual currencies as a secondary payment method. Considering that cryptocurrencies are illegal in Vietnam, the MoF sounded the call for a ban on crypto miner imports.
In addition to the MoF’s assessment, Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the SBV, and other government parastatals to examine the issues surrounding the importation of miners. The MoIT issued a letter to the SBV requesting its collaboration in researching the problem. The MoIT for its part recommended a temporary ban on mining rig imports.
Now, the central bank (SBV) has said that it agrees with both the MoF and MoIT. The SBV has called for a mining rig imports to be suspended. According to the country’s apex bank, such a move would enable the government to better manage the local currency market.
Protecting the Public from Cryptocurrency Scams
The general narrative in Vietnam is that virtual currencies provide a means for fraudulent elements to scam unsuspecting investors. Earlier in the year, news broke about a $658 million ICO scam by a Ho Chi Minh-based company, Modern Tech JSC. The fraudulent ICO purportedly affected more than 32,000 investors.
Thus, the government believes that it must do all it can to protect its citizens from future cryptocurrency-enabled scams. This protection requires the placement of a ban on the importation and use of cryptocurrency mining rigs.
In 2017, Vietnam imported about 10,000 mining rigs. Data from the country’s Customs shows that more than half that number was imported within the first four months of 2018. Saigon, Hanoi, and Da Nang are the principal mining hubs in Vietnam.
Do you think the ban on cryptocurrency miners will solve the problem of cryptocurrency scams in Vietnam? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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