Vietnam may ban virtual assets to fix its bad rep for money laundering

Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has raised the prospect of prohibiting or regulating virtual assets by May 2025, as part of a drive to boost anti-money laundering (AML) efforts. The 17-point action plan is aimed at getting Vietnam off a "gray list" maintained by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – an intergovernmental anti- …

[Anonymous Coward]

Money laundering is like charity

...in the sense that it starts at home:

https://credas.com/news/oecd-money-laundering-leader-board/

I'm sure Vietnam (like many emerging markets) has a problem with the issue, and that the nature of those markets means under-reporting is the norm, but it does seem that the biggest problem is the G7 countries and certain supporting countries who punch above their weight when it comes to laundering (Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg).

[Pascal Monett]

"regulate virtual assets"

All assets are virtual these days. Since COVID, I have touched actual, physical money less than half a dozen times. Funny money does nothing to improve on that.

[Marty McFly]

"Government officials have been urging action to regulate crypto..."

That really shows the ignorance of government officials. Crypto currency cannot be regulated by its very design. The only thing a government can do is regulate the on & off ramps. Vietnam can control the dong (Vietnamese currency) being used to buy/sell crypto currency. But they cannot control crypto currency itself.

The largest bill available is a 500,000 dong note, which is worth around $20 USD. No surprise citizens of a country with such highly inflated currency are interested in hard assets, like cryptocurrency, for the retention of personal wealth.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "Government officials have been urging action to regulate crypto..."

You're an idiot.

First, cryptocurrency is not even remotely a "hard asset" - it's not an asset at all. It's imaginary money, not backed by any asset, not backed by any government.

And it's actually quite easy to regulate. You get caught with it, you go straight to jail. You get caught producing it, you go straight to jail for a long time.

[Marty McFly]

Re: "Government officials have been urging action to regulate crypto..."

Wow. Attacking the person rather than the argument is always a sure sign of a losing position.

Actually cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, is a hard asset secured with mathematics. There is a limited supply, there cannot be more. It cannot be inflated like government controlled money supplies. Even traditional hard assets like gold and silver can have their supply manipulated and more can be dug out of the ground.

Just how would someone get 'caught' with cryptocurrency? Memorize your seed phrase. No one can compel you to produce it, and with it you can access your cryptocurrency anywhere.

[MrGreen]

Let’s Blame Crypto

In 2023 only 0.34% of all on chain transactions were illicit activity.

https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/2024-crypto-crime-report-introduction/

Governments love someone to blame.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Let’s Blame Crypto

That's easy to fix.

Ban cryptocurrency, then it's 100%.

And governments really should ban it, it's an environmental disaster.

[Judithbr]

Helpful scam Recovery content

In an era dominated by technology, the internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. While it has opened up new avenues for communication, learning, and entertainment, it has also given rise to a darker side — online scams. Older adults, in particular, are often targeted by those seeking to exploit their trust and lack of familiarity with the digital landscape. In fact, folks over the age of 60 lost an estimated $3.1 billion in 2022, I was a victim too but I was able to get help from my FBI friend who connected me with Recovering ATusa com.