Vietnam plans to issue its first batch of cryptocurrency service provider licenses in 2026, but the entry threshold is much higher than the headline makes it seem.
The framework comes from Government Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP, signed on September 9, 2025: a five-year pilot, expected to run until 2030. The Ministry of Finance leads the effort, with the National Securities Commission’s Digital Asset Trading Market Management Committee overseeing it; the State Bank and the Ministry of Public Security will also coordinate. The total number of licenses is capped at 5.
What truly shapes the landscape is the admission criteria: minimum registered capital of 100 trillion Vietnamese dong (about USD 383 million), which must be fully paid in Vietnamese dong. At least 65% of the capital must come from institutional shareholders, and more than 35% of that must be contributed by at least two “eligible institutions.” “Eligible institutions” are defined as commercial banks, securities firms, fund management companies, insurance companies, or technology companies. Foreign ownership is capped at 49%; all settlement must be conducted in Vietnamese dong. Tokenized assets must be backed by real-world assets and issued by Vietnamese entities, with securities and fiat currency explicitly excluded.
So far, five entities have passed the initial review: VIX Crypto, LPEX (SCEX), CAEX, TCEX, and Vietnam Digital Assets JSC. Behind them are three bank-linked groups, one securities firm, and one large conglomerate. Note that passing the initial review doesn’t mean receiving a license—regulators have not published a licensing timetable.
My take: this design effectively hands the market to the banking and brokerage ecosystem, making it difficult for crypto-native teams to enter with only their own capital. It isn’t “open”; it’s “licensed assimilation.” For ordinary users, the real timeline is another one: under Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP, enforcement for trading through unlicensed channels begins only six months after the first license is issued. If no license is issued, this transition period never starts. With roughly 17 million crypto holders in Vietnam and global adoption among the top seven, those six months are the window.
#Vietnam plans to issue its first crypto licenses in 2026
With this “high barrier + bank-backed” approach, do you think other Southeast Asian countries will copy it?
The framework comes from Government Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP, signed on September 9, 2025: a five-year pilot, expected to run until 2030. The Ministry of Finance leads the effort, with the National Securities Commission’s Digital Asset Trading Market Management Committee overseeing it; the State Bank and the Ministry of Public Security will also coordinate. The total number of licenses is capped at 5.
What truly shapes the landscape is the admission criteria: minimum registered capital of 100 trillion Vietnamese dong (about USD 383 million), which must be fully paid in Vietnamese dong. At least 65% of the capital must come from institutional shareholders, and more than 35% of that must be contributed by at least two “eligible institutions.” “Eligible institutions” are defined as commercial banks, securities firms, fund management companies, insurance companies, or technology companies. Foreign ownership is capped at 49%; all settlement must be conducted in Vietnamese dong. Tokenized assets must be backed by real-world assets and issued by Vietnamese entities, with securities and fiat currency explicitly excluded.
So far, five entities have passed the initial review: VIX Crypto, LPEX (SCEX), CAEX, TCEX, and Vietnam Digital Assets JSC. Behind them are three bank-linked groups, one securities firm, and one large conglomerate. Note that passing the initial review doesn’t mean receiving a license—regulators have not published a licensing timetable.
My take: this design effectively hands the market to the banking and brokerage ecosystem, making it difficult for crypto-native teams to enter with only their own capital. It isn’t “open”; it’s “licensed assimilation.” For ordinary users, the real timeline is another one: under Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP, enforcement for trading through unlicensed channels begins only six months after the first license is issued. If no license is issued, this transition period never starts. With roughly 17 million crypto holders in Vietnam and global adoption among the top seven, those six months are the window.
#Vietnam plans to issue its first crypto licenses in 2026
With this “high barrier + bank-backed” approach, do you think other Southeast Asian countries will copy it?