Vietnam unveils NDAChain to drive national blockchain infrastructure

Developed by the National Data Association and operated by the Data Innovation and Exploitation Centre (under the National Data Centre, Ministry of Public Security), NDAChain is positioned as the foundational layer of data verification for government and private sector systems.

NDAChain addresses long-standing challenges of centralised data models such as vulnerability to cyberattacks, poor scalability, and limited global integration by offering a decentralised layer of trust for critical national systems, including e-government, finance, healthcare, logistics, and education.

"Vietnam has chosen a hybrid data architecture that blends centralised and decentralised components. NDAChain acts as a protective layer for the nation's live data, critical to our digital society and economy," said Nguyen Huy, head of technology at the National Data Association.

With a population of over 100 million and rapidly accelerating digital transformation, Vietnam is generating data at exponential rates. The National Data Centre is designed to be the central repository for citizen and national data. However, protecting this data from forgery, leakage, and misuse demands a next-generation layer of verification.

Blockchain, known for its immutability, transparency, and decentralised nature, provides an ideal mechanism for authenticating and tracing data origin, especially in high-stakes, cross-sectoral interactions.

NDAChain is a Layer 1 permissioned blockchain featuring a consortium of 49 public-private validator nodes, operated by state agencies and major enterprises such as the National Data Centre, Ministry of Public Security, SunGroup, Zalo, Masan, MISA, Sovico, and VNVC.

Each validator node includes a distributed ledger for transparent transaction records, smart contracts for automating processes, Identity verification modules integrated with Vietnam's VNeID, and other national identity systems.

The entire platform runs on a Proof-of-Authority consensus protocol, enhanced with Zero-Knowledge Proof for security and capable of processing up to 3,600 transactions per second, with low latency and high scalability.

Beyond its use in digital government, NDAChain also powers NDA DID, a decentralised identity solution that enables citizens to verify the identity of counterparties during transactions, service access, or digital contract signing. Through the NDAKey application, users can verify identities in seconds, helping prevent scams and impersonation.

In addition, NDAChain is integrated with NDATrace, Vietnam's national platform for product identification, authentication, and traceability. Each product is issued a unique identifier, compliant with GS1 standards and compatible with the EU's EBSI system. This enables Vietnamese businesses to join global supply chains and build consumer trust with verified product origin.

By the end of 2025, NDAChain will be fully integrated into the National Data Centre and gradually expanded to local governments and universities by 2026. The next phase will focus on workforce development, international collaboration, and building Layer 2 applications tailored for various sectors.

Thanks to its open architecture and pro-integration policies, NDAChain is a launchpad for startups, tech firms, and private organisations to develop digital services. These may include identity wallets, anti-counterfeiting solutions, traceability platforms, and digital notarisation services across verticals.

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