CAEX, a crypto platform linked to the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Inventory Business Financial institution (VPBank) ecosystem, stated OKX Ventures and HashKey are backing the corporate because it seeks to qualify for Vietnam’s pilot regime for crypto exchanges.
CAEX stated Friday that the 2 offshore firms will be a part of VPBank Securities (VPBankS) and know-how accomplice LynkiD as shareholders.
In line with a launch shared with Cointelegraph, their funding is meant to assist CAEX attain Vietnam’s minimal constitution capital threshold of 10 trillion dong (about $380 million), a key situation for collaborating within the pilot program.
Vietnam pilot units excessive bar
The transfer comes as Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance and State Securities Fee press forward with a five-year crypto pilot that may admit solely a restricted variety of licensed digital asset service suppliers. Officers have stated not more than 5 enterprises might be allowed to function exchanges underneath the pilot, which opened its licensing window on Jan. 20.
The framework additionally caps international possession at 49% and requires not less than 65% of capital to be held by institutional shareholders, creating excessive boundaries to entry even for bank-backed contenders.
Authorities have additionally signaled they could block entry to unlicensed abroad platforms as soon as the primary onshore exchanges are operational, elevating the stakes for international companies looking for a compliant route into the market.
A spokesperson for OKX instructed Cointelegraph they might not disclose the scale of the funding or the businesses’ stakes in CAEX, nor whether or not the funding confirms the change’s choice within the pilot, saying it might “not be applicable to remark additional on the regulatory course of.” Nevertheless, they stated the funding would allow CAEX to fulfill the capital necessities to pursue entry into Vietnam’s regulated crypto pilot program.
CAEX is a part of VPBank’s broader monetary ecosystem and beforehand stated it was within the ultimate levels of elevating its constitution capital to 10 trillion dong to qualify for the pilot, whereas VPBank is considered one of Vietnam’s largest non-public lenders.
The OKX spokesperson stated that, as a strategic accomplice, the corporate would work with the opposite shareholders “as applicable” to make sure CAEX has “the monetary energy and technical know-how” to fulfill consumer expectations and regulatory requirements. Potential areas of collaboration embody technical infrastructure, safety techniques, compliance and threat administration, they stated.
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Vietnam’s crypto market has boomed, however regulation is tightening
Vietnam’s crypto market has boomed in recent times, with Chainalysis rating the nation fourth in international crypto adoption in 2025. Nevertheless, that progress has been marred by a number of high-profile scams and fraud investigations, giving regulators further impetus to tighten management.
In March 2026, Vietnamese authorities detained a number of ONUS-linked suspects after alleging they used false promotions and manipulated token buying and selling to misappropriate billions of {dollars} of investor funds by way of the crypto platform.
The spokesperson stated Vietnam is a crucial marketplace for digital asset innovation, and that the “growth of a regulated framework” is a “constructive step” for the nation’s business.
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