Vietnam is making ready to limit entry to abroad cryptocurrency platforms as regulators push ahead with a plan to launch the nation’s first licensed digital asset exchanges, in accordance with a authorities doc reviewed by Reuters.
The Ministry of Finance is drafting guidelines that will prohibit Vietnamese residents from buying and selling on international exchanges equivalent to Binance, OKX, and Bybit. The transfer aligns with a five-year pilot program designed to deliver crypto buying and selling below home supervision whereas limiting capital outflows.
The coverage shift comes as Vietnam ranks among the many most lively cryptocurrency markets globally. Knowledge from Chainalysis exhibits Vietnamese customers transacted greater than $200 billion in digital belongings within the 12 months via June 2025, putting the nation fourth on its international adoption index. Crypto utilization in Vietnam spans remittances, financial savings, and gaming, reflecting integration into each day monetary exercise.
Below the proposed framework, solely domestically licensed platforms could be permitted to function, requiring customers emigrate away from worldwide exchanges.
Authorities say the method goals to strengthen oversight, scale back fraud dangers, and retain transaction-related income inside the home financial system.
A Vietnamese crypto licensing arms race begins
No less than 5 companies have handed an preliminary qualification spherical for alternate licenses, together with associates of Techcombank, VPBank, and LPBank, together with VIX Securities and Solar Group.
The licensing regime units a excessive bar for entry. Candidates should meet a minimal constitution capital requirement of 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, or roughly $400 million, and adjust to strict requirements protecting governance, cybersecurity, and anti-money laundering controls. Overseas possession is capped at 49%, signaling a desire for home management over key market infrastructure.
The hassle builds on a authorized shift that started in 2025, when Vietnam’s Nationwide Meeting acknowledged crypto belongings as property below the Legislation on Digital Expertise Business. Whereas cryptocurrencies stay non-legal tender, the change established a basis for regulated market growth.
Officers and business representatives say limiting offshore buying and selling might redirect liquidity towards home platforms, although it could restrict entry to international markets.
Authorities are additionally contemplating a tax framework that might embrace a levy on crypto transactions carried out via licensed exchanges. Particulars stay below evaluate as regulators finalize the construction of the pilot program.
The primary licensed exchanges might launch as early as March 2026. The result of the pilot is predicted to form Vietnam’s long-term method to digital asset regulation and place the nation inside the broader Southeast Asian crypto market.