The Blockchain Innovation Tour (BIT) was organized in HCMC on November 6. Vietnam was the second destination in Southeast Asia, after Malaysia, that BIT visited in the first half of the month.

Many blockchain firms, mostly from Singapore, introduced their new apps in the fields of healthcare, microfinance and non-aggregate distribution. Ken Nizam, the founder and CEO of Block Asia, said the demand for connecting the projects utilizing the technology and investors in Southeast Asia is relatively high.

“We see the region as an emerging market among blockchain markets. More blockchain communities in developing countries have been set up and want to approach potential projects from all over the world,” he said.

At the same time when BIT was taking place, another blockchain tour sourced from Europe announced it would arrive in Vietnam. Named Blockchain for SDGs Tour/Summit, the event is expected to take place later this month.

The annual event of the web developer community, Vietnam Web Summit 2018, early next month is another example. The organizing board said AI and Blockchain will be important topics for discussion.

Terry O’Hearn, an expert from Canada, predicted that there would be 30 million blockchain users in Vietnam in the next 10 years.

According to Doan Kieu My, the representative of EUBC HUB in Vietnam, about five to seven events related to Blockchain have been organized each month in the last three months.

Blockchain technology has become a hot topic in Vietnam over the last two years. However, most of the organized events have focused on general perceptions, while evidence about the efficiency of its use in real life in other countries was not mentioned.

My said the upcoming event will spend time presenting solutions which have been applied in business fields, but it will not discuss topics unrecognized by Vietnamese laws such as cryptocurrency.

Analysts say that Vietnamese tend to equate blockchain with cryptocurrency, and that most businesses still have vague knowledge about the new technology.

A study by Infinity Blockchain Labs pointed out that there are challenges for blockchain industry in Vietnam, including  weak awareness, insufficient education, legal barriers, and the lack of an ecosystem. 

According to Kimble Ngo, CEO of NEM Vietnam, there are two blockchain fields in Vietnam, including outsourcing of solutions for foreign partners, and R&D to use the technology in agriculture, food and e-government.

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