VietNamNet Bridge - Bitcoin has become a focal point globally with prices skyrocketing. On large bitcoin trading floors such as Bittrex, poloniex.com, wex.nz, the number of accesses from Vietnam is in the top 5.

Bitcoin has become a focal point globally

Vietnamese laws don’t recognize bitcoin as a currency or a kind of commodity. However, this has not prevented people from paying attention to the crypto currency which has seen prices soaring in recent days. More and more people are trading bitcoin and investing in bitcoin.

CME and CBOE, the two large trading floors in the US, have received permission to issue bitcoin futures. Nasdaq said it would begin providing the product by early 2018.

The fact that bitcoin is largely recognized in the world has confirmed local investors’ confidence in the future of bitcoin.

According to CryptoCompare, 80 percent of bitcoin transactions in late November were from Asia, especially China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. 

In November, the number of accesses to Bittrex.com, poloniex.com, coinmarketcap.com and wex.nz from Vietnam was among the five countries with the highest number of accesses. The other countries were the US, Russia and Japan.

According to Google Trends, Vietnam ranked 38th among 100 countries in the world with the highest number of searches for ‘bitcoin’ in November. 

The searches increased sharply in mid-November, the time when bitcoin price skyrocketed. Vietnamese mostly asked Google about the bitcoin price, the way of investment and the places where they could buy bitcoin.

The cities which most searched for ‘bitcoin’ included ones in the south and the southern central region such as Vung Tau, HCMC and Da Nang.

In Vietnam, bitcoins are being used for underground transactions. FPT University, a large university in Vietnam, once intended to accept bitcoin from students as payment for tuition.

The ‘bitcoin rush’ has escalated the price of bitcoin mining machines and demand for the machines. 

According to the HCMC Customs Agency, by the end of October, the agency had received customs declarations for importing via air nearly 1,500 cryptocurrency mining machines.

Observers said a bitcoin mining machine such as Antminer S9 and Avalonminer 721 is priced at between VND55 million and VND80 million. 

Bitcoins have helped many people get rich. They have made profits from selling bitcoin mining machines and from leasing premises for mining machines. 

The leasing fee is about VND2 million which covers expenses on electricity, the internet, cooling devices, protection and technical support.

The State Bank of Vietnam said that supplying and using bitcoins are subject to a fine of VND150-200 million.

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Mai Thanh