Vietnam will ban the import of cryptocurrency mining equipment, as reported by Viet Nam News on 19 July.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has announced it will temporarily suspend the import of mining hardware. The measure was ordered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). The total number of mining machines reached 15,600 units from 2017 to April 2018.
“This came in response to an official letter from the MoIT asking for SBV’s coordination in research and comments on the management of cryptocurrencies in the country, in which the MoIT proposed to temporarily ban the machine imports,” wrote the media.
It’s a preventive decision
The decision is considered a preventive one in order to complete the investigation on the import activities and establish a guidance on mining machines’ management. The research began at the request of Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung which later submit the proposal with the MoIT, the SBV, and the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
Vietnam faces currency flow issues
As stated by Viet Nam News, Vietnam faces currency flow problems, and the presence of crypto mining hardware is aggravating the situation. Furthermore, the temporary suspension aims at promoting the use of national currency rather than digital ones.
It seems difficult to regulate imports of cryptocurrency mining equipment, which is why Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has suggested banning them in June. By this measure, the MoF is also committed to taking care of residents against crypto scams after a $ 660 million hacking attack held in April has worried the authorities.
We would like to remind that in May, the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade has banned institutions involved in the e-commerce activities to support Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins within the online payment system.
