Vietnamese blockchain project ‘made domestically, based overseas’

Statistics of Yield Guild Games (YGG SEA) up to the beginning of May show that there are about 1,000 blockchain game projects in Vietnam market. The most prominent is Sky Mavis with the game Axie Infinity, once had a total market capitalization of 9.7 billion USD. About 10 Vietnamese startups in the blockchain field currently have a market capitalization of over 100 million USD. However, most of them are based abroad while the market and human resources are mostly in Vietnam.

Sky Mavis has a majority of founding members who are Vietnamese, the staff is located in Ho Chi Minh City, but on paper, the company’s headquarters is in Singapore. Similarly, a series of leading blockchain startups such as KardiaChain, Kyber Network or Tomochain have all registered their “birth” in this island nation.

According to Mr. Cris Duy Tran, co-founder of FAM Central and Director of the National Startup Fund, the fact that blockchain companies choose Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia… to set up their headquarters is an inevitable trend because of appropriate policies. suitable, friendly. Vietnam does not have clear legal regulations for this field, so it is not convenient to operate and raise capital.

Mr. Huy Nguyen, co-founder of KardiaChain, said that about 5-7 years ago when he was abroad, he also chose Singapore to locate his start-up company because of a clear legal corridor, recognized by international law.

“This is a general trend of the whole world, not just Vietnamese startups,” he said. “In the period of 2020-2021, the Vietnamese blockchain market explodes, companies continue to choose Singapore because of its proximity and affordable prices. Besides, blockchain law firms are not many, they are available. connected in Singapore, so all future projects follow the path of their predecessors”.

Difficult situation of blockchain startups

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung, CEO of Sky Mavis, the fact that projects often choose Singapore is directly related to capital flow. “When the company needs to expand into the international market, receiving foreign investment in Singapore is much more convenient than calling capital from Vietnam. The law in Singapore is also clear, while in Vietnam, deals are The higher the value, the bigger the barrier,” he said.

Trung said that startups are often small in size, so how to survive and match business purposes is much more important than thinking about how to fit all legal frameworks. In Vietnam, it takes a blockchain company 3-6 months to complete the procedures, then before receiving investment, the project may be dead.

Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Huy Nguyen said that Vietnam has not yet had a law for the blockchain sector and related applications, so there are many risks for both businesses and investors when there are disputes, especially international disputes.

From the perspective of a project developer, Mr. Trung assesses that the legal framework is clearly a plus point for blockchain startups, not a minus. “The operating model without a legal framework makes startups always feel afraid, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. We always have to operate in a defensive direction, have to think about what to do, while that time, that anxious mind should be spent on business and project development,” he said.

So that Vietnamese projects do not have foreign ‘nationalities’

At the Vietnam Blockchain Expoverse event taking place in Dubai at the end of March, Ms. Nguyen Dung, an expert in research and development of innovation ecosystems under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said: “Different countries have With different levels of economic and technological development, the application of new technologies is not the same.When I contacted startups, I understood that in fact, you only went to Singapore to solve the problem of raising capital, then That will bring money back to Vietnam to operate the project. I hope in the future, projects will be easier to call for international capital. The authorities are also making master plans, amending the resolution. Decree 38 of the Government on investment for startups”.

Nguyen Thanh Trung said that as a Vietnamese, everyone wants to do the best for their homeland. But when running a business, the head must choose what is best for the project to survive and thrive before thinking about other things.

According to experts, if the project is located in the country, Vietnam will benefit from many things. The first is foreign capital pouring in, then the investment in human resources will be more focused. Next is tax revenue from projects. Finally, the media effect. The world will have a positive assessment when looking at Vietnam when it opens to technology and international investors.

“If the project is located abroad, we cannot bring the image of Vietnam as a start-up country, leading in technology trends. This is a brain drain when human resources come from Vietnam, designed by a domestic engineer but has the ‘nationality’ of a neighboring country,” said Mr. Cris Duy Tran.

From the experience observed in Silicon Valley and many parts of the world, Mr. Huy Nguyen said that not only Vietnam, many countries around the world also lack clear regulations on digital assets, NFTs or cryptocurrencies. In order to make the most of the opportunities blockchain brings, Vietnam should have a legal corridor that is consistent with specific laws from the most basic level.

According to a former Google executive, sandboxing policies are especially important in promoting startups. “There must be a law, a clear reward and punishment mechanism to handle the clarification and solve the bad ones, so that the Vietnamese blockchain market can develop sustainably,” he said.

Khuong Nha