VietNamNet Bridge – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has affirmed that bitcoin is not a legal currency which is accepted in payment in Vietnam.

Bitcoin has arrived in Vietnam

Following the “bitcoin movement” all over the world, some Vietnamese companies have announced the acceptance of bitcoin in the transactions.

Just several days after lamchame.com hung the notice “bitcoin accepted” since January 6, 2014, on January 14, 2014, Hiep Dong Company Ltd, which is running lamchame.com signed a contract on using the payment service in bitcoin with So Sanh Vietnam JSC, which is managing websosanh.vn.

Under the contract, websosanh.vn will hang its ad banner on lamchame.com. The contract is valued at VND550,000, or 0.03 bitcoins (BTC), at the exchange rate of BTC1 = US$910, according to Buu Dien newspaper.

It is still too early to say about the “bitcoin wave” in Vietnam and the fate of the currency. However, analysts say the move by the enterprises showed that Vietnamese are “abreast of the times.”

Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon has quoted a senior official of the State Bank of Vietnam as saying that BTC is not legal in Vietnam and it must not be used as the means of payment in the Vietnamese territory.

The official said so on January 13 as a statement showing the State Bank’s viewpoint about the move of Hiep Dong Company to accept BTC in payment.

He also affirmed that there is not a legal framework for a virtual currency like bitcoin to exist in Vietnam. Many other countries also do not accept bitcoins. Even in some other countries, where bitcoins are accepted, no legal framework exists. People have the right to make transactions with bitcoins, but they have to bear the high risks.

“In case of disputes or any problems, no one would come forward and protect them in such transactions,” the official said.

Hiep Dong’s Director Bui Huy Kien believes that bitcoin would become popular in Vietnam in a near future. Meanwhile, Linh, who has experiences in trading BTC, said a BTC is worth VND21.5 million, while a buyer can buy at least 0.05 BTC and 100 BTC at maximum.

However, it obviously will take much time to persuade Vietnamese to use BTC in payment, because analysts have warned about the risks people may have.

Phan Dung Khanh, Head of the Analysis Division of Kim Eng Securities Company, said BTC, by the nature, is the coded currency. Therefore, bitcoin owners do not know who to claim to in case of error codes. Meanwhile, banknote owners can exchange torn banknotes for new ones at banks.

Regarding the dong/BTC exchange rate, analysts have noted that there is a big gap between the BTC price in the world and in Vietnam. Unlike the gold price, there is no single BTC price for all countries.

On January 12, 2014, for example, a BTC in Vietnam was traded at VND15 -17 million, while it hovered around VND22 million in the world.

Especially, Khanh said the BTC value goes up and down very sharply by up to 50 percent just within the day.

“If someone buys a BTC at $1,000 and the BTC later depreciates by 50 percent, he would have to spend two BTC to be able to buy a goods item which he could buy just with one BTC before,” Khanh explained.

Compiled by K. Chi