There are still different viewpoints and approaches on how to manage digital assets and promote their development. (Photo: toquoc.vn) According to Dang Huy Dong, Director of the Planning andDevelopment Institute, it has become pressing for countries,including Vietnam, to develop appropriate legal frameworks to promote thedevelopment and application of blockchain as well as digital assets.
Vietnam also needs to create a fair and transparentenvironment to exploit the values of digital assets, thereby having a mechanismto encourage creativity and technological innovation to enable the countryto benefit from opportunities arising from Industry 4.0 and keep up with thedevelopment of other countries.
Digital assets witnessed rapid growth in recent years along withthe development of science and technology, and the fourth industrialrevolution.
Boston Consulting Group has estimated that tokenized assetsmay account for 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030,equivalent to 16.1 trillion USD, expecting a rapid growth from 310 million USD in2022, or 0.4% of GDP.
Nguyen Khanh Bao from the Ministry of Information andCommunications cited statistics of Digital Assets – Worldwide/Statista MarketForecast which showed that there were more than 2 billion transactions, worth atotal of 1.4 trillion USD, from cryptocurrencies in 2021.
The revenue from the digital asset market was forecast to reach 56.42billion USD in 2021 and register an average annual growth rate of 16.15% inthe 2023-2027 period to reach 102.7 billion USD in 2027.
The number of users would reach 994.3 million in 2027, or a userpenetration rate of 12.5%.
Vietnam currently ranks 11th with a penetration rate of 6.1%of the population and in the top 20 countries with the highest penetrationrates of digital assets.
A representative from Blockchain Association said that Vietnam wasin the top 10 in the world in terms of the percentage of the population owningcryptocurrencies.
According to Dong, Blockchain is considered one of the leadingtechnologies in the list of prioritized technologies for research, developmentand application to participate in Industry 4.0.
The law of Vietnam has not yet recognised the ownership of digitalassets. However, transactions and exploitation of digital assetshave taken place regardless.
There are still different viewpoints and approaches on how tomanage digital assets and promote development.
Bao said many countries took action to develop a legal frameworkfor digital assets, including the EU, Japan, the US and China. But in Vietnam,there had been no regulations established.
He said that reviews of the existing 8 relevant laws andcodes showed that there had been no clear definition and classification ofcrypto assets.
A research team from the institute proposed a legal framework tobe completed, including a clear and detailed definition of digital assets toensure the appropriateness to Vietnam’s situation.
Cryptocurrencies should be recognised as a new type of asset whichhas prerequisites for circulation, researchers said.
Policymakers should consider taxing transactions related todigital assets, researchers said, adding that initial coin offerings (ICOs)should also be allowed and put under management together with tradingplatforms.
The research team also proposed to improve the technology parkmodels specialised for blockchain research, development, application andtesting, with a priority on app-based products whichgenerate economic value for the country.
Pham Hong Hanh, from the National Assembly Office’s EconomicsDepartment, said that it was essential to build a legal framework to promotethe development and application of blockchain technology and manage virtualassets.
However, the level of regulation should be put into carefulconsideration to ensure a balance between the goals of encouraginginnovation and protecting the interests of organisations and individuals.
She said that crypto assets, like non-fungible tokens, andcryptocurrencies were the best-known applications of blockchain technology,adding that these were new issues. It would be difficult to build a completeand comprehensive legal framework the first time. Therefore, developing asandbox would be the appropriate approach.
Le Thi Hoang Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Civil andEconomic Law under the Ministry of Justice, said that digital assets by naturereflected a value similar to other traditional ones. Thus, they should betreated as assets.
To promote Industry 4.0 in Vietnam, the law must play a rolein promoting and protecting ownership of new types of assets created by thisrevolution. However, it would be impossible to raise comprehensive solutionsimmediately.
Thanh said the approach for Vietnam should be to closely watch thedevelopment of technology and markets while enhancing exchanges and learningfrom international experiences and consulting relevant parties to graduallyraise appropriate policies./.
VNA
