Hanoi’s Dpt. Of Industry And Trade Prohibits Crypto Use In E-Commerce

The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade has restricted associations and people involved in e-commerce businesses in the city from utilizing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to settle exchanges on the web, in an archive issued to pertinent meetings on April 13.

The record refers to government announces on non-money payment instruments, accentuating that “the issuance, supply, use of Bitcoin and similar virtual currencies is prohibited in Vietnam”. Violations are liable to a “fine of between VND 150 mln ($6,608) and 200 mln ($8,810) for individuals and organizations. Furthermore, as of January 2018, issuing and utilizing cryptographic forms of money “may be subject to criminal prosecution.”

Crypto-administrative activity in Vietnam escalated a week ago after Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked government and money related bodies to fix their oversight of digital currency-related activities.

The mandate took after reports of what could be the biggest crypto extortion ever ($658 mln) if demonstrated genuine, including the claimed duping of 32,000 investors by two ICOs headed by a Vietnam-based outfit. Police are right now examining the case.

An outright prohibition on using crypto as a means of payment has been set up in Vietnam since 2017, however, the Ministry of Justice is presently hoping to substance out a more powerful and broad administrative structure following the Prime Minister’s requests.