Over the weekend Vietnam's central bank took a harsh stance against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Tuoi Tre reports that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) released a document on Saturday outlining punishments for the use of cryptocurrencies in the country.
Under Article 4 of Decree 101, the SBV lists legal forms of cashless payment as checks, payment orders, collection orders, and bank cards. Bitcoin and other forms of digital currency are not included.
Accordingly, anyone caught breaking this regulation may be fined VND150-250 million (US$6,575-10,959).
The news source also shares that under the new Penal Code, which comes into effect on January 1 2018, anyone who supplies, issues or uses illegal payment methods in Vietnam can be criminally charged.
The move by the SBV comes as countries around the world take a close look at increasingly popular cryptocurrencies. China, which accounts for the majority of all Bitcoin activity, has cracked down on the sector in recent weeks.
Moreover, the sudden ban seems to come out of left field, especially after the central government announced back in August that it would establish a legal body to govern cryptocurrencies. Officials shared that they were also working on a set of regulations covering this new form of currency to fully legalize it in 2019.
It remains unclear if the ban would still be in effect once the new set of regulations is released in the future.
Nonetheless the value of Bitcoin continues to increase, with one unit worth US$5,946 as of Friday, according to Tuoi Tre.
Just last week FPT University, a privately owned tech university with several campuses in Vietnam, announced that it will begin accepting Bitcoin for tuition payments from foreign students. It appears that the SBV's move will prevent such transactions.
[Photo via National Daily]
