At the workshop, attendees hear how ethical rules and community standards are important in any field, but they are especially important in terms of digital assets that haven’t got an adequate legal framework. Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — While legal regulations on digital assets help ensure compliance with the law and protect the rights of all participants, ethical rules and community standards in the field will contribute to strengthening trust and promoting the implementation of the legal regulations in the community.

Experts at a workshop on building a legal framework for digital assets titled ‘The role of the community in monitoring compliance with legal regulations’, organised by the Vietnam Blockchain Association (VBA) on Wednesday, shared this view.

Permanent Vice President of the VBA, Phan Đức Trung, said ethical rules and community standards are important in any field, but they are critical in fields such as digital assets, which do not have an adequate legal framework.

With cross-border and 24/7 operations and fast liquidity, digital assets are often exploited in order for criminals to commit fraud, property appropriation, money laundering and tax evasion. Therefore, soft principles, which are built and developed by the community, are even more meaningful, Trung said.

In Việt Nam, a report by the American blockchain analysis company Chainanalysis shows that the flow of cryptocurrencies to Việt Nam has reached US$120 billion per year, equivalent to nearly 30 per cent of GDP. The number of Vietnamese people owning crypto assets has reached 17.4 per cent, ranking the country seventh in the world.

Meanwhile, due to the lack of legal framework to manage this market, many consequences such as fraud, tax evasion and illegal capital raising have taken place, which has caused serious damage to investors.

According to Trung, as it takes time to complete and promulgate a legal corridor, ethical rules and community standards are powerful and quick tools to effectively solve some of the current problems in the digital asset market.

According to the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention under the Đà Nẵng City Police, the complexity of virtual assets has posed a significant challenge to the legal system of Việt Nam along with many countries in the world. It requires updating new concepts on asset classification and ownership, as well as legal documents on management and control of this type of asset.

Therefore, experts said, competent management authorities must carefully and comprehensively study socio-economic aspects and consider many different aspects before building a legal framework for virtual assets.

It is also necessary to organise seminars and conferences with the participation of many agencies, departments, enterprises and experts to share ideas on how to build those legal frameworks for virtual assets. — VNS