Vietnam ranks fourth worldwide for crypto adoption, with the highest investor-to-population percentage at about 20%. All that activity has been happening in the grey area, but the government has now made a big move to regulate it.
On September 9, 2025, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ho Duc Phoc, signed and issued a government resolution establishing a five-year pilot framework for the offering and issuance of crypto assets.
The pilot takes effect immediately and is set to make sweeping changes in the Vietnamese digital asset market.
A ban on fiat-backed crypto assets
One of the striking features of the resolution is that fiat-backed cryptocurrencies have been banned, with the government only permitting tokens backed by “real underlying assets”.
“Crypto assets must be issued based on underlying assets that are real assets, excluding assets that are securities or fiat currencies,” reads the report on the government’s digital newspaper.
This effectively bans stablecoins backed by assets such as the US dollar and government treasuries. If any company wants to offer crypto assets, it can only do so to foreign investors. Further, “offering, issuance, trading and payment of crypto assets must be made in Vietnamese Dong.”
Strict controls on crypto asset service providers (CASPs)
The Vietnamese government has also established strict controls on who can issue crypto assets and significantly raised the barriers to entry.
The resolution states that “the organisation issuing crypto assets must be a Vietnamese enterprise, registered to operate in the form of a limited liability company or a joint stock company under the Law on Enterprises.”
However, getting the licence to issue crypto assets won’t be possible for small enterprises, as it also establishes strict capital and personnel requirements. CASPs are expected to maintain a minimum capital of 10 trillion dong, equivalent to A$570m (US$279m). Of this, at least 65% must be from shareholders and members who are organisations, with the remainder contributed by at least two organisations from the banking, securities, fund management, insurance, or technology sectors. The shareholders are also subject to being profitable businesses for two consecutive years prior to the issuance of the licence, and foreign ownership of CASPs is capped at 49%.
There are also staffing requirements for the General Director (Director) and the Chief Technology Officer, or an equivalent position. The Director needs at least 2 years of experience as a professional in finance, securities, banking, insurance or fund management. The CTO must have at least 5 years of professional experience in the IT department of organisations within the fields of finance, securities, banking, insurance, fund management, or technology.
This is then capped off with a requirement for at least 10 employees having diplomas and training certificates in network information security and 10 more with securities practice certificates in other departments.
Broader control over the crypto infrastructure
This development isn’t in isolation. On June 14, 2025, Vietnam officially legalised digital assets when Vietnamese lawmakers approved the Law on Digital Technology Industry.
This was a departure from the years of warnings from the central bank and other government agencies on the risks of investing in crypto.
The new law recognised digital assets and categorised them into virtual assets and crypto assets. It states that “Virtual assets are a form of digital asset used for exchange or investment. These do not include securities, digital representations of fiat currency, or other financial instruments as defined under civil and financial laws.”
As for crypto assets, they are “digital assets that rely on encryption technology to validate transactions and ownership. Like virtual assets, they explicitly exclude securities, digital fiat currency, and other financial assets under existing legal frameworks.”
But unlike the pilot programme, the law has not yet been implemented, as it’s a broader law that also touches on digital technology enterprises and compliance with anti-money laundering controls. It will take effect on January 1, 2026.
The pilot programme is also set to work in conjunction with another crypto development that was announced by Dunamu in August.
The South Korean company, which operates Upbit crypto exchange, announced that it has signed an MOU with the Vietnam Military Bank (MB Bank) to support the establishment of a virtual asset exchange in Vietnam. It will also offer industry expertise to help establish virtual asset-related laws, regulations, and investor protection mechanisms.
Affirming the commitment, Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok stated, “We will provide comprehensive support so that the Vietnamese government can stably build a digital financial ecosystem based on Upbit, a trustworthy technology foundation.”
And when acknowledging the partnership, Liu Trung, Chairman of Military Bank, said, “Going forward, Vietnam and Korea, Military Bank and Upbit will work together as strong cooperative partners to contribute to the growth and development of Vietnam’s digital financial market.”
This isn’t the first crypto asset exchange service in the country, as Vietnam already hosts BitcoinVN, a no-sign-up instant exchange. However, the pilot programme will likely end up troubling the sector with licensing requirements, which will ultimately make Military Bank’s new platform the first regulated exchange in the country.
What’s the effect on investors?
According to Kyung-seok, Vietnam currently has over 20 million virtual asset holders, with an annual trading volume of over $800 billion.
Considering that the new regulation bans regular stablecoins and mandates all transactions to be in the Vietnamese Dong, the new pilot programme will have a huge effect on investors.
Citizens already holding crypto will be given six months to open accounts when the Ministry of Finance issues the first licence. From there, the report states that trading on unlicensed platforms will be deemed illegal and could be subject to criminal prosecution.
The question remains whether the strict controls meant to stabilise crypto activities in the country will also limit innovation in an industry that uses it as fuel.
