Vietnam's central bank announced a 'ban' on cryptocurrencies, but this university started accepting Bitcoin as payment for tuition

Despite the Central Bank of Vietnam’s announcement banning cryptocurrencies as a payment method, Vietnamese private university FPT plans to accept Bitcoin for tuition payments.

FPT University is a private institution with branches in three major cities in Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang. FPT President Le Truong Tung announced on Facebook that they will soon accept Bitcoin as payment for tuition fees from foreign students. Tung believes that with Bitcoin, foreign students will not be affected by the strict currency controls in their respective countries.

Tung said:

Therefore, FPT decided to conduct a formal test and announced that foreign students coming to Vietnam to study can use Bitcoin as a tuition payment method in order to attract more international students.

The school's official website also mentioned that they plan to add Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency research to the curriculum, specifically for students majoring in finance, business administration, and banking. Accepting Bitcoin and incorporating the application of cryptocurrency into research is an open move taken by FPT, and it is also the first university in Vietnam to take such measures.

The university currently has 100 international students, about 1% of the total student population. Tung hopes to attract more international students by accepting Bitcoin payments, despite the fact that Vietnam’s central bank has banned Bitcoin as a payment method.

International students can exchange Bitcoin for the country's legal currency, Vietnamese Dong, to pay tuition fees; in addition, they can also "donate" their own Bitcoin to the school's Bitcoin wallet, after which these cryptocurrencies will be converted into legal currency and exist in the form of scholarships.

Tung added:

FPT will open a Bitcoin account for students to facilitate online currency transfers...After further regulatory measures are implemented, both international and domestic students will be able to use Bitcoin to pay tuition fees.

Yesterday, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) stated its position: Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are not legal means of payment in Vietnam. In addition, the agency will also ban "the issuance, supply and use of Bitcoin". The central bank also pointed out that using Bitcoin as a payment method may result in a fine of 150 million to 200 million VND (about $9,000) or even prosecution.