Vietnam Launches a National Blockchain Platform

Vietnam has officially launched a national blockchain platform designed to serve as the backbone for its expanding digital ecosystem. 

On Friday, Vietnam announced the launch of a state-run blockchain network, which will verify digital transactions and records across different sectors. 

The new platform, NDAChain, was developed by the country’s National Data Association (NDA) and will be operated by the Ministry of Public Security’s Data Innovation and Exploitation Center.

The government said NDAChain would address long-standing challenges of centralized data models, including cyberattack vulnerabilities, scalability and limited global integration. 

NDAChain “critical” to the local digital economy

Nguyen Huy, the head of technology at the NDA, said that the blockchain will be a protective layer for the nation’s live data. He said it will be “critical” to their digital society and economy.

The announcement also said the blockchain will offer a “decentralized layer of trust” for national systems, including e-government, finance, healthcare, logistics and education. However, Huy said the network is not fully decentralized. 

“Vietnam has chosen a hybrid data architecture that blends centralized and decentralized components,” Huy said. 

NDA said the network is a layer-1 permissioned blockchain, with 49 public-private validator nodes.

State agencies, including the NDA and the Ministry of Public Security, will operate these nodes. Companies like SunGroup, Zalo, Masan, MISA, Sovico and VNVC will also play a role in securing the network. 

Permissioned blockchain networks are blockchains that include access control layers. This allows entities to have some measure of control over what actions network participants can perform. It adds a layer of security and control, making the blockchain centralized. 

These node operators will share a distributed ledger for transaction records, smart contracts for automation and identity verification modules linked with Vietnam’s national identity systems. 

The platform runs on a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus protocol, enhanced with zero-knowledge proofs for security. 

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Vietnam adopts a decentralized identity solution

In addition to transaction data, the NDAChain will also power NDA DID, a decentralized identity solution implemented by the NDA. 

It will be used to verify counterparty identity during transactions and allow service access and digital contract signing.

The Vietnamese government said the NDAKey application will allow users to verify identities in just seconds, aiming to prevent scams and digital identity theft.