Vietnam’s Banking Clampdown: A Glimpse into the CBDC Future

Recent developments in Vietnam have sent a clear message to those watching the evolution of global finance: centralised control over money is no longer a distant risk—it’s fast becoming reality. In recent weeks, reports have emerged of Vietnamese citizens having their bank accounts frozen or closed without clear explanation. Official justifications range from anti-fraud measures to "suspicious activity", but the broader context points to something more concerning: a creeping move toward the kind of centralised financial control that Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are designed to enable.

Vietnam has long maintained a tightly controlled economy with limited space for financial dissent. But the scale and suddenness of this banking freeze are unprecedented. Citizens have found themselves locked out of their own savings—unable to pay bills, access pensions, or even buy food. There’s been little recourse and virtually no path to appeal. It’s financial censorship in its rawest form, and a stark illustration of what becomes possible when monetary power is fully centralised.

CBDCs are often sold as tools for efficiency or inclusion. But their real distinguishing feature is programmability. That means governments or central banks could, in real time, dictate how money is used—where, when, and by whom. If your behaviour doesn’t align with the state's expectations, your access to funds could simply be switched off. Vietnam doesn’t yet have an official CBDC in operation, but the current crackdown reveals the underlying philosophy in action: financial control as a tool of social control.

Could this happen in Australia? The uncomfortable truth is yes—and we may be closer than we think. The Reserve Bank of Australia has already conducted pilot programs for a digital dollar. The language around those trials—efficiency, inclusion, stability—mirrors that used elsewhere. But beneath the rhetoric lies the same architecture of control. When money becomes purely digital and centrally issued, personal financial autonomy becomes conditional.

Imagine a future where your ability to buy fuel is restricted by a carbon allowance coded into your digital wallet. Or where your money can only be spent within your local area, unless special permission is granted. These features aren’t theoretical—they’re core to the design of programmable money. Combined with the compliance systems trialled during COVID, it’s not hard to see how easily dissent—whether through protest or even questioning policy—could be met with financial penalties.

Vietnam offers a live case study: a glimpse into a world where your finances are no longer your own. And it underscores a critical truth—financial freedom is individual sovereignty. Lose that, and your ability to act independently, speak freely, or survive outside the system is severely compromised. That is the true risk posed by CBDCs: the potential loss of economic self-determination.

If there’s any silver lining, it’s that awareness is growing. More Australians are beginning to question the nature of money and the future being designed around it. Programmable currency may soon be part of our financial system—and if we wait until it’s implemented, it may be too late to resist. That’s why holding physical bullion remains so important. Precious metals provide an asset outside the reach of centralised control—something you can rely on, regardless of the system’s rules.

Financial control is the final lever of total control. The only question now is: how far will central banks go?