Vietnam is one of the latest nations to consider a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for its economy, but the Southeast Asian country has made it clear that digital currency would not replace its fiat currency.
The “Decision 942,” which is an order released by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, aims to establish a digital government that would provide major improvements to the Vietnamese economy.
The country’s program of digitizing its economy would certainly include the creation of a CBDC, and the government said that it would keep track of the digital economy trends happening in other parts of the world.
CBDC trial
Vietnam is also in the process of creating a regulatory entity for its upcoming CBDC. But even with this development, the government reiterates that the Vietnamese dong will remain the country’s primary currency.
Another initiative that the government has done is ordering the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to start the trial for the country’s CBDC which would start this year until 2023.
Love-hate relationship with crypto
Previously, Vietnam was known to be an anti-crypto country because of its hostile policies toward digital assets.
In 2018, the government banned all financial institutions from providing services to their customers who are interacting through crypto.
On top of that, a policy was also proposed to ban all crypto mining machine exports in the country. Also, companies were restricted from interacting with any cryptocurrency-related transactions.
But today, Vietnam is taking significant steps, not only in developing CBDC but also in giving cryptocurrencies a chance to function with its economy.
The country is exploring ways on how to better manage cryptocurrencies through regulatory laws to leverage their benefits while protecting citizens from risks.
Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube