Vietnam will get its first licensed crypto exchange, thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding between the Link Thanh Group, the nation’s largest distribution group, and KRONN Ventures AG, a blockchain company from Switzerland’s “crypto valley” Zug.
KRONN’s press release spoke of its intentions in the Southeast Asian market:
In October 2018, KRONN Ventures AG formed a consortium with financial committees of five Asian developing countries including Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to build an international wiring system using blockchain technology that fits with the Asian environment. Since Vietnam and its Linh Thanh Group became the first place for this deal, the other countries in the consortium are growing concerned that they will be deprived of the opportunity to kickstart the Asia-wide transnational wiring system using blockchain.
The group’s press release states that it expects the development to spread to other countries, and the impact felt in Vietnam will be felt in surrounding regions.
KRONN says that it has the license to operate but Vietnamese lawmakers, although they have banned crypto-related activities, are still deliberating on how to approach crypto in the long run.
Last year, Vietnam was subject to one of the largest cryptocurrency scams ever, when a company siphoned $658 million from investors in a fraudulent ICO. The news caused an outrage in Vietnam, and Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue demanded that it be looked into.
The exit scam resulted in calls for tougher regulation that protects investors from market risks, and the approval of an exchange (if officially announced) means that the authorities are aware that there is some potential in the crypto space and are open to taking steps forward.
