According to a post on the forum of the State Bank of Vietnam's portal, using the virtual currency Bitcoin may be illegal in Vietnam.

Currently, the SBV is studying the currency and has not announced any official decision. However, by a post on SBV's forum, poster Xuan Thanh gave grave warnings about the Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system and independent digital currency introduced as open-source software created in 2009 by a developer who goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Because of its characteristics, the use of Bitcoin is not regulated by the central bank and the cost for its management is cheaper than credit cards and account transfers. In addition, Bitcoin users do not have to pay fees, and so has attracted many users.

In 2013, the price of a Bitcoin went up from USD13 in January to over USD1,100 in the last few months. However, if the Bitcoin system stops working, the responsibility for compensation is unclear. 

According to Thanh, many experts consider Bitcoin as valid useful currency and hope that its value will continue to rise like that of the stock market. Bitcoin can be bought or exchanged with users, however newly-created Bitcoins can be obtained through a process called mining. 

Bitcoin has a public database that records all transactions. Anyone can join to maintain this database and will be rewarded with new Bitcoins after a certain time, but it is a competitive business because it requires strong computer and calculation skills. In addition, the public database may be vulnerable to hackers and the rising value may make it useful for the purposes of money laundering.

Many countries have already advised against an independent currency for various reasons, political and cultural and especially taxes. In Vietnam, Bitcoin has not been accepted by any state management agencies and the evaluation of financial market will be affected if transactions use one of these unofficial currencies. No agencies may deal with disputes or compensations with Bitcoin.

"Bitcoin is a new virtual currency to Vietnam, so management agencies will need time to observe and study the effects its use would have. Investors should be wary since transactions using Bitcoin may be considered illegal," Thanh wrote.