The Trend of Blockchain in Vietnam and Its Implications for ROK

Bitcoin and blockchain are often making headlines not only on TV or media but also among the public in today's society. These technologies have been developed after the risk of the centralized financial system came to the fore during the 2007 global financial crisis. Since then, an anonymous inventor called Satoshi Nakamoto penned the bitcoin white paper where a blockchain-based reference implementation was introduced. Bitcoin was able to achieve unprecedented growth by positioning itself as one of the top global currencies in terms of market capitalization after five years since its development. The pace of Vietnam's economic development is notably fast among Asian nations, while the nation was expected to be a Southeast Asian blockchain hub but they have banned virtual currency trading recently. However, they've also designated the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) as a responsible agency for the research of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, the construction of a service ecosystem, and their test operations. The fast-growing economy, increasing number of smartphone users, and the Vietnam government's support policies for startups substantiate these efforts. Therefore, this paper attempts to study the current status of Vietnam's blockchain technology that has been considered to be the center of blockchain systems right behind Singapore, and its implications for Korean companies.