• Vietnam is the second largest cryptocurrency holder in ASEAN after Thailand, with over 16.6 million cryptocurrency holders.
• The country embraces blockchain projects such as NFTs, GameFi, infrastructure, wallets, DeFi and web3.
• The Vietnamese government does not legally recognize cryptocurrencies but it allows holding tokens for investments and asset holdings.
Vietnam is the Second Largest Cryptocurrency Holder in ASEAN
Vietnam is the second largest cryptocurrency holder in the ASEAN region after Thailand, with over 16.6 million crypto holders. According to Coin98 Insights Vietnam Crypto Market Report 2022, Vietnam has an average of 200 distributed ledger blockchains as of 2022. 31% of the population owns bitcoin among other digital assets held by Vietnamese citizens.
Vietnam Embraces Crypto
The most active blockchain projects in Vietnam include non-fungible tokens (NFTs), GameFi (game finance), infrastructure, wallets, decentralized finance (DeFi) and web3 (decentralized internet). Metaverse platforms and game projects take up 28.8% of blockchain projects while DeFi accounts for 26%. Seven out of the top 200 blockchain companies were founded by Vietnamese people.
Growth and Adoption of Cryptocurrencies in Vietnam
Despite government interference with investor activities, the cryptocurrency industry has seen tremendous growth in Vietnam. There have been numerous instances where the government has called for crypto regulations due to its involvement with financial crimes despite withholding legal recognition from virtual currencies as a valid payment method. Despite this lack of recognition, many residents continue trading digital assets within legal gray areas such as asset holding or investment opportunities – even though these are not officially recognized by law yet – leading to an increase in adoption rates throughout 2021 and 2022.
Government’s Stance on Cryptocurrency
The Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh has asked that anti-money laundering or AML bill should amend virtual currencies since “people still trade” crypto in the country and suggested that regulation may help address these issues if needed be . However there are some lawmakers who advocate for its adoption such as exploring Central Bank Digital Currency (CBD).