Vietnam revisits the idea of engaging in cryptocurrencies by setting up a research group to explore the technology further

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has created a research group in charge of spearheading studies in virtual assets and cryptocurrencies. This group is led by Phạm Hồng Sơn, the deputy chairman of the State Securities Commission.

Aside from the State Securities Commission, the group also has representatives from the General Department of Taxation, the State Bank of Vietnam’s Department of Banking, Financial Institutions, and Legal Department, Vietnam Customs, and the National Institute for Vietnam Finance.

The call for increased research and proposals on public policy surrounding digital currencies is brought about by the rapid development of virtual assets in the local market. The increase prompted concerns about the risks and negative impacts on users.

A cryptocurrency market research company named CryptoCompare revealed that as of November 2017, roughly 80 percent of Bitcoin transactions originate from Asia— particularly from Japan, China, Vietnam, and the Republic of Korea. In addition, Vietnam was found to be one of the top five countries with the most access to cryptocurrency websites and trading platforms, besides the US, Japan, and Russia.

Vietnam’s first Bitcoin exchange, BitcoinVN, was established in 2019. It also developed the country’s first Bitcoin ATMs.

In an interview between Asian Blockchain Review, as well as the co-founder and COO of BitcoinVN, Dominik Wiel, Wiel explains that the country’s political stability, growing economy, and active youth are what drew the company to set up a presence.

“Vietnam is a strongly ascending market in Asia. Besides India, it had the fastest-growing economy in the world over the past decade, is politically stable, and has a very young population eager to adopt new technologies fast and willing to take risks.” Dominik said.

On August 21, 2017, the Vietnamese Prime Minister approved a project on the completion of a legal framework for managing cryptocurrencies, electronic currencies, and virtual assets.

Eight months later, on April 11, 2018, the government issued Directive No 10/CT-TT to increase the level of management related to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, so as to minimize any risks and negative impacts associated with the transactions.

Just two days later, the State Bank of Vietnam’s Governor issued Directive No 02/CT-NHNN regarding the implementation of measures to increase their control over transactions related to cryptocurrencies. Credit institutions were asked not to supply certain categories of transactions related to virtual currencies so as to ensure compliance with established regulations on anti-money laundering and forex management.

Bitcoin price plunged around 15% on Saturday and triggered liquidations on the BitMEX exchange, which saw over $260 million in long positions liquidated

On May 10, just a day before Bitcoin’s halving, the number of long positions liquidated on BitMEX rose to $295 million.

Although these liquidations hit both long and short positions, it is the longs that bore the brunt.  According to the data site Cryptometer, 96% of these liquidations were of XBT/USD longs, worth over $266 million. In contrast, liquidated shorts in BitMEX’s XBT/USD pair were only worth $11.3 million, or just 4%.

Yesterday also saw XRP liquidations on BitMEX reach $12.3 million while Ethereum (ETH) saw $6.5 million. The margin calls represented 4.1% and 2.2% respectively of long positions liquidations in BitMEX contracts. For shorts, XRP and ETH accounted for a paltry 0.02% and 0.22% respectively in liquidated positions.

Total liquidations over the past 24 hours stand at $90 million, with longs accounting for over $63 million or 70% and shorts $26 million or 30%. Open interest in BitMEX’s XBT/USD is at $484 million, with current liquidations at close to $1 million (99%) for longs and $10.3k (1%) for shorts.

The XBT/USD perpetual contract is funded and paid out every 8 hours, with investors set to get their next payout at 3:00 PM UTC+3.

BTC below $10,000 sees longs post huge losses

BTC’s plunge to prices close to $8,100 triggered massive activity on BitMEX from longs, just 24 hours to the halving.

Bitcoin price, which touched $10,000 on May 8, clipped the gains with a near 15% drop that took its price from around $9,800 to lows of $8,100. The crash occurred within a quarter of an hour of massive sell-off pressure.

The cryptocurrency’s spot prices fell as bulls failed to hold successive support levels.

BTC has turned positive in the past 24 hours, with intraday gains currently flipping on both sides of $8,700. But what these prices mean is that retail investors, who went long in the hope that the pioneer crypto could surge past $10k, posted losses of up to 15%.

The liquidations are likely from longs eager to cash in on anticipated upsides in the top cryptocurrency’s value on pre-halving hype. But despite touching $10,000 and flashing bullish in the last several weeks, bulls failed to retake the $10k levels. Instead, despite halving hype hitting the ceiling, Bitcoin reversed to leave sentiment largely shaken.

Yet, for enthusiasts, Bitcoin’s price has already taken in a 150% upside since it crashed to a low of $3,800 on March 12.