If you’ve been following the latest news from 1984, you’ll know that Vietnam has permanently closed over 86 million bank accounts. For a country with an estimated 200 million bank accounts, that’s around 43% being frozen or deleted to “prevent fraud and cybercrime.”
The account closures follow sweeping new regulations requiring users’ biometric authentication, and provide Bitcoin with one of the best free publicity campaigns to date.
86 million bank accounts: Vietnam’s biometric turn
According to Vietnam News and statements by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), commercial banks began deleting more than 86 million bank accounts at the start of September 2025.
Officials state the purge targets accounts that have either not been verified with biometrics or have been flagged as long inactive. The move is billed as a measure to prevent fraud, cybercrime, and money laundering.
113 million of the country’s estimated 200 million accounts survived the verification sweep, with around 86 million bank accounts being deemed as inactive.
Biometric checks, including face scans, are now mandatory not only for account registration but for certain online transactions. Foreign residents have been among the hardest hit due to in-person requirements and limited avenues for remote compliance.
When banks freeze your account
Vietnam’s overnight account closures are not an isolated event. Over recent years, governments and banks worldwide have frozen millions of customers’ funds, citing fraud, sanctions, or regulatory mandates.
In 2022, depositors in several rural banks in China found their funds frozen without warning, sparking public protests and outrage when withdrawals of life savings were blocked due to alleged fraud or mismanagement.
In the United States, law enforcement and banks regularly freeze or seize funds during investigations, with civil asset forfeiture impacting citizens who have not been convicted of a crime.
Individuals in the United Kingdom fare even worse and can have their accounts frozen through “Account Freezing Orders,” and anti-money-laundering laws mean even ordinary customers face sudden freezing or closure for compliance anomalies.
And who could forget the infamous Canadian truckers in 2022? The government used emergency powers to freeze both bank and crypto accounts linked to protestors and supporters without a judicial process in some cases.
Safeguards or systemic risks?
Authorities say these measures prevent money laundering and financial crime. But critics (especially in the crypto community) point to risks. Vietnam’s freeze of 86 million bank accounts highlights the importance of being your own bank.
Centralized systems mean your funds exist at the permission of banks or the state. Regulatory and political winds can lead to sudden exclusions, errors, or even abuse, sometimes with limited recourse for customers.
Increasing digitization and biometric controls tie financial access to identity; a blessing for security, but a curse if systems fail or if someone falls afoul of policy.
Unlike bank accounts, Bitcoin can be held and transacted without intermediaries, making arbitrary freezes or seizures much harder; something increasingly relevant in a world of shifting compliance standards and debanking.
Real sovereignty means financial independence from not only hackers, but even the most well-intentioned (or overbearing) governments and institutions.