According to recent reports, the State Bank of Vietnam, which is also the country’s central bank, announced that it will ban the import of digital currency mining hardware for individuals and companies.
The decision represents the bank’s response to a request filed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). To put things better into perspective, the MoIT has recently suggested a temporary ban that would affect the import of mining hardware. The reasoning behind this is based on the issues concerning the management of currency flows in the region. According to the ministry, the use of mining equipment and cryptocurrencies is making financial management more difficult for the government. So far, mining has not been forbidden, and it is unknown whether the government is considering such a move.
Surprisingly, a study has revealed the presence of a high volume of mining machines – reportedly, 15,600 units were imported between 2017 and 2018.
It is important to point out the fact that Vietnam has declared unofficial currencies illegal back in 2017, thus leading to a reduction in the size of the local crypto market. Apart from the difficulties associated with currency flows management, the Ministry of Finance has stated that regulating new cryptocurrencies is proving to be a very difficult process.
Additionally, the same ministry has reasoned that the ban will also protect citizens from crypto-related scams. For those who do not know, Vietnamese authorities had to deal with a $660 million ICO scam back in April.
The regulatory framework of the country remains unfriendly towards cryptocurrencies, considering that the Hanoi Department of Trade has banned financial institutions and e-commerce companies from processing crypto-based transactions.
Fortunately, the mining hardware import ban has not been given a permanent status, therefore it is likely that it will be lifted – prospectively after the development and implementation of a better regulatory framework for digital currencies and mining hardware.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what are your thoughts on Vietnam’s ban on the import of mining hardware? Let us know in the comment section below.