Laos authorized (1) the mining and trading of cryptocurrencies in September 2021. The prime minister's office said at the time that six companies had been permitted to mine and trade cryptocurrency. At the same time, regulators worked to establish a whole regulatory framework for crypto.
The Ministry of Technology and Communication (“MOTC”) issued (2) the Decision on Digital Asset Transactions No. 888/MOTC dated 9 November 2021 (the “Decision”), which provides regulatory guidance about digital asset transactions utilizing blockchain technology in Lao PDR.
Under the Decision, “Digital Assets” are classified as either Cryptocurrency or Digital tokens. Companies mining or operating cryptocurrency trade platforms must now be wholly Lao-owned with stable financial status. They must also have sufficient capital to operate a cryptocurrency trading business. In addition, a security deposit of US$5 million must be deposited with the Bank of Laos by any company applying to mine or act as a platform to trade in cryptocurrency.
The regulations issued (3) in 2021 after the government authorized six companies to conduct trial mining and trading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
In January 2022 the Bank of the Lao P.D.R. (BOL) has registered (4) two companies to operate as crypto exchange in the country. Lao Digital Assets Exchange (LDX) is the first authorized platform, a joint venture between the AIF Group and the Phongsupthavy Group. The second is Bitqik, a subsidiary of the Simuong Group.