Hundreds of billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies are estimated to have flowed into Vietnam over the past year; however, the lack of a legal framework monitoring this capital flow might lead to tax losses and risks such as money laundering.

Hanoi police had busted an illegal cryptocurrency network worth trillions of dong.

Vietnam has a number of blockchain games with revenue of hundreds to millions to billions of dollars. However, blockchain games have not been recognized or licensed in Vietnam.

Vietnam ranks second in the world in cryptocurrency ownership with 21.2 per cent of the population adopting crypto, according to data from the Crypto payment gateway Triple-A.

Eighty-six percent of central banks, including Vietnam's,  are considering the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for their economies.

According to the National Assembly Deputy Duong Van Phuoc, virtual currencies and assets still can escape the net because of unclear regulations of the Anti-money Laundering law (AML).

Changpeng Zhao, the 19th richest billionaire in the world, arrived in Hanoi on June 3. The billionaire, 45, is a Chinese-born Canadian. His total assets are $17.4 billion, mostly in cryptocurrencies.

Many Asian countries have researched, piloted and even deployed digital currencies using Blockchain technology. In Vietnam, there are only plans on paper.

The Prime Minister has assigned the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to study and try to use a cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology as a part of a strategy on e-government in 2021-2025.

The Covid-19 pandemic has attracted capital from Vietnamese investors in cryptocurrencies. About 6 million Vietnamese own digital assets.

Investors who bought bitcoins for $35,000 in July will make substantial profit if they sell now, when prices are high.

It is likely that the piloting of virtual currency will be the second sandbox in Vietnam after Mobile Money to offer the market a new and convenient means of payment in the digital economy.

The move is part of a national strategy to promote non-cash payment in Vietnam in the 2021-2025 period.

El Salvador recently became the first country in the world to legalize bitcoin, which will be used to pay for goods and services as well as taxes.

After Axie Infinity, the total capitalization of Coin98 ecosystem has reached the $1 billion mark.

With the price tripling within one week and the capitalization value hitting nearly $1 billion, Axie Infinity, the Blockchain-based game project developed by Vietnamese, has become a global phenomenon.

Vietnam's latest initiatives on promoting blockchain and studying cryptocurrency application are expected to spark huge interest in the country's potential cryptocurrency future.

With total market capitalization value of $1.45 trillion as of June 21, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has attracted investors but has also been an ideal hiding place for illegal activities.

A delay in issuing official legal regulations on managing cryptocurrencies will cause a rise in the risks of fraud and theft related to virtual assets, experts have warned.