Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has asked the country’s central bank to pilot a cryptocurrency program from 2021 to 2023, English-language newspaper Việt Nam News reports.
Fast facts
- The plan was signed off in Prime Minister’s Decision No. 942/QĐ-TTg on the country’s broad development strategy of moving towards digital government. It also encompassed artificial intelligence, big data and virtual/augmented reality.
- Cashless payments are already on the rise in Vietnam, and it is hoped that the pilot will help to accelerate the process by recognizing the pros and cons of digital currency and implementing an appropriate management system.
- The deputy director of the Institute of Innovation at the University of Economics Hồ Chí Minh City, Huỳnh Phước Nghĩa, told Việt Nam News it was time for the government to carry out tests on cryptocurrency because “digital money is an inevitable trend”.
- The central bank had previously stressed that cryptocurrencies are not legally recognized in Vietnam.
- In 2018, the bank banned banks and credit institutions from using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. It has also not granted licenses to any crypto trading platforms.
