Four days have passed since the State Bank of Vietnam had announced that cryptocurrencies are illegal means of payment in the country. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the official who shut down Bitcoin payments, has achieved his goal of building the new legal framework for cryptocurrencies in Vietnam. His solution? Ban all cryptocurrencies.
Following Indonesia, Vietnam is the second country that officially banned digital currencies and their use as payment methods. However, since both Vietnam and Indonesia didn’t contribute too much to the overall trading volumes, their bans are expected to cause little effect in Bitcoin’s price. The fact that Bitcoin has reached a historic high of $7,300 has proved the expectation.
Local institutions affected
Though the ban won’t influence Bitcoin, it does have an impact on local institutions. A few days ago, the president of FPT, a private Vietnamese university, announced that the university was planning to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment for students’ tuition.
According to Dr. Le Truong Tung, the university expected to attract more international students by offering Bitcoin payment options. Now it’s highly likely that the university will have to withdraw the decision.