Vietnam loses top ranking in cryptocurrency adoption index

The 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index (GCAI) published by U.S. blockchain market analysis company Chainalysis has Vietnam with 0.568 points. India and Nigeria are on 1 and 0.624 points.

The ranking is based on indicators related to cryptocurrency trading volumes on centralized exchanges and peer-to-peer (P2P) and DeFi platforms. The index is averaged over a year and has a scoring scale of 0-1 for each country.

Changes in the global crypto adoption index from the third quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2023. Source: Chainalysis

Commenting on Vietnam’s decline in the GCAI rankings, Le Thanh, founder of blockchain startup Ninety Eight, said the success of several blockchain projects from India such as Polygon and Fantom in Africa over the past year has helped promote the development of decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems and new users in India and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has not had many new blockchain projects, he said.

At the Blockchain and Web3 Technology Development Forum on Nov. 1 held at the Vietnam International Innovation Expo (VIIE 2023) in Hanoi, Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of the Ethereum and Cardano blockchain networks, said: "Vietnam is still at the top of the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption index. However, what impresses me is that there are many young people who are passionate about developing projects. The cryptocurrency world will soon witness top improvements here."

A person tracks cryptocurrencies on a smartphone application. Photo by VnExpress/Khuong Nha

Heesu Min, Senior Manager of Government Affairs from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said one of the important factors for blockchain in general and cryptocurrency in particular to penetrate deeply into people’s daily life is clear legal policies.

This is a common challenge for countries around the world, she added.

Of the world’s top 200 cryptocurrency businesses, seven were founded by Vietnamese.

Vietnam also has over 10 blockchain firms with a capitalization of more than $100 million, including three with a capitalization of over $1 billion each, namely C98, Axie Infinity and Kyber Network.