Five firms pass Vietnam’s crypto vetting, yet no exchange holds a license

Vietnam expects its first licensed crypto service providers to begin operating in 2026, Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi said on Sept. 15, 2026, though no final exchange license has been issued.

The announcement comes as authorities work through a five-year pilot designed to establish rules for crypto trading, custody, issuance and market supervision.

The latest timeline puts Vietnam crypto regulation at a critical stage. Five companies had passed an initial assessment by Aug. 30, but Vietnam had not yet issued its first final license for a crypto exchange. The distinction is important: passing the preliminary assessment does not give an applicant permission to operate.

Chi disclosed the 2026 target during a Sept. 15 meeting in Vienna with Mariana Kühnel, executive director of the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). The discussions focused on financial-market supervision and how regulators can keep pace with new technologies and emerging asset classes.

Five companies advance as licensing process tightens

The licensing framework began taking shape formally in January 2026, when Vietnam introduced administrative procedures covering the issuance, amendment and revocation of licenses for organizations providing crypto-asset market services. The State Securities Commission confirmed that applications would be accepted from Jan. 20.

Under the pilot, applicants must meet substantial financial, governance, technology and cybersecurity requirements. Service providers need at least 10 trillion Vietnamese dong in charter capital, equivalent to roughly $380 million, with at least 65% contributed by institutional investors. Foreign ownership is capped at 49%.

The framework is deliberately restrictive as Vietnam crypto regulation moves from policy design toward actual market supervision. Applicants must also demonstrate appropriate information-system security, risk-management capabilities, qualified personnel and operational infrastructure before receiving approval.

Several financial and technology groups have prepared for the market. CAEX, linked to VPBank, has worked with international investors including OKX Ventures, while SSI Digital Technology has explored cooperation with South Korean exchange Bithumb covering technology, custody, wallets, security and compliance. These partnerships remain subject to Vietnamese licensing requirements.

AML and investor protection move to the forefront

Licensing is only one part of the regulatory build-out. Vietnamese authorities are also developing the systems needed to monitor licensed platforms and transactions once the market becomes operational.

State Securities Commission Chairwoman Vu Thi Chan Phuong said the supervisory mechanism is being developed around Financial Action Task Force recommendations, with particular attention to risk management, protection of investor assets and anti-money-laundering controls.

That makes Vietnam crypto regulation broader than simply deciding which exchanges can operate. Regulators are preparing a framework intended to monitor service providers, identify suspicious activity and establish controls around customer assets.

Vietnam is also building the technological infrastructure needed for that oversight. In July, the State Securities Commission invited bids for the first phase of a system designed to manage and monitor the crypto-asset trading market. The project signals that supervision is being developed alongside the licensing regime rather than after exchanges launch.

The pilot itself was established through Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP, which took effect on Sept. 9, 2025, and runs for five years. The resolution covers crypto-asset issuance, trading, custody and service provision.

New penalties raise the stakes for unlicensed activity

The regulatory shift gained another enforcement layer on Sept. 1, when Decree No. 284/2026/NĐ-CP took effect. The decree establishes administrative penalties for violations involving crypto assets and the crypto-asset market.

Organizations providing unauthorized crypto-market services can face fines of up to 200 million dong. The rules also address violations involving customer verification, anti-money-laundering obligations and other requirements applicable to market participants.

However, the new penalties do not mean Vietnamese investors were immediately required to abandon every unlicensed platform on Sept. 1. Under Resolution 05, the six-month period requiring domestic investors to trade through licensed service providers begins only after the Ministry of Finance grants the first crypto-asset service-provider license.

That timing means the first license will be a significant regulatory trigger. Until it is issued, the six-month transition period has not begun.

Austria and EU experience shape Vietnam’s next phase

Vietnam is also looking abroad as it builds its supervisory architecture. During the Vienna meeting, FMA Executive Director Mariana Kühnel said many Austrian financial rules are established at the European Union level, while the FMA implements and supervises them domestically. She proposed greater cooperation through the International Organisation of Securities Commissions and online technical meetings between experts.

Chi agreed to the proposed cooperation, while Phuong said Vietnam wants to draw on experience from Austria and other European Union regulators as it develops its own framework.

The international engagement comes as Vietnam crypto regulation enters a more operational phase. Authorities are no longer focused solely on establishing legal recognition for digital assets; they are building licensing procedures, supervisory technology, enforcement rules and cross-border regulatory cooperation around the market.

For the industry, the next major milestone is straightforward: the first final license. Once that happens, the regulatory clock for domestic investors will begin, and Vietnam’s five-year crypto-asset pilot will move from preparation into live market supervision.