The Academy of Blockchain and AI Innovation signed an MoU with partners to provide blockchain and AI training for people. — Photo courtesy of VBA

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam needs to complete a legal framework to better manage virtual assets (VAs) as well as virtual asset service providers (VASPs), experts said at an annual forum on Blockchain and AI held by the Việt Nam Blockchain Association (VBA) in Hà Nội this week.

Some 20 per cent of the Vietnamese population own crypto assets which are developed by blockchain technology, they said, stressing that without strict management and failure to comply with global taxing principles, VA transactions could pose great challenges for the country in the coming time.

As of the end of December 2023, 32 countries regulated crypto-assets in their jurisdictions, including ten nations of the G20 group officially issuing regulations on VA and VASP, the Atlantic Council’s surveys on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and protection of users and the VASPs revealed.

VBA’s Standing Vice Chairman Phan Đức Trung said 18 related documents had been issued in Việt Nam so far. The notable one was the national action plan to carry out the Government’s commitment to preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction so as to lift Việt Nam out of the Financial Action Task Force’s list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring (grey list).

He said the plan focused on the AML/CFT and VASP standard, but neglected taxation of VA and protection of users. Therefore, a complete legal framework had not been formed yet.

The association hoped to collect opinions from the community and enterprises as well as have dialogue with state management agencies to develop a complete framework before May 2025.

At the event, the association announced the second Switch Up Accelerator, helping startups to call for funds, and highlighted an overview of the blockchain industry in Việt Nam and the globe.

Academy of Blockchain and AI Innovation debuts

The Academy of Blockchain and AI Innovation debuted on the occasion, aimed at providing blockchain and AI training strategies for 1 million people by 2030.

In particular, about 100,000 students at 30 universities across the country will be equipped with the latest knowledge on this field through various activities such as workshops, training courses, programming competitions (hackathon), idea creation competitions (ideathon), and the 2024 university tour programme (Unitour 2024).

Đào Trung Thành, ABAII deputy director, shared that the Unitour had been held at five universities in Hà Nội, HCM City, and Đà Nẵng City over the past two months, bringing useful knowledge on the applications of blockchain and AI according to the needs and desires of each university with topics of interest such as digital economy and finance, banking data analysis and career opportunities.

On this occasion, the academy also gave five universities 50 scholarships each to promote the universalisation of Blockchain and AI among Vietnamese technology students. — VNS