Vietnam expects its first crypto asset service providers to obtain official licenses and commence operations in 2026 under a structured five-year pilot legal framework. The timeline was announced by Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi during a September 15 bilateral meeting in Vienna with Mariana Kühnel, Executive Director of the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA).
The licensing initiative forms part of Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP, a five-year digital asset market pilot established in September 2025. Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance formally opened the administrative licensing process in January, setting stringent entry requirements for prospective trading platforms.
Applicants must be Vietnamese enterprises holding at least 10 trillion dong (~$383 million) in paid-in charter capital.
At least 65% of total capital must come from institutional investors, with a minimum of 35% contributed by qualifying organizations such as commercial banks, securities firms, insurers, or technology companies.
Foreign equity ownership is strictly capped at 49%.
As of late August, five companies, including affiliates associated with Techcombank, VPBank, LPBank, VIX Securities, and Sun Group, had passed an initial screening assessment. However, passing the initial assessment does not grant authorization to operate, and no final exchange licenses have been issued to date.
Supervision and Financial Action Task Force Compliance
Alongside the licensing roadmap, the State Securities Commission (SSC) of Vietnam is designing an overarching market oversight system. SSC Chairwoman Vu Thi Chan Phuong noted that the supervision mechanism incorporates key recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), prioritizing anti-money laundering (AML) controls, investor asset protection, and risk management.
To refine its oversight regime, Vietnam is drawing on regulatory models from Austria and the broader European Union. The FMA, which oversees Austrian banks, securities firms, and digital asset providers under EU frameworks, proposed conducting online technical seminars and strengthening coordination via the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Regulatory Penalties and Investor Transition Rules
Vietnam’s supervisory rollout is accompanied by new enforcement mechanisms introduced under Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP, which came into effect on September 1. The decree establishes strict financial penalties.
Entities offering or advertising unauthorized crypto services face fines between 180 million and 200 million dong.
Licensed providers face specific fines for breaches concerning customer asset segregation, transaction monitoring, and customer identification (KYC) rules.
Conducting trades on unlicensed platforms carries organizational fines between 30 million and 50 million dong.
Crucially, the requirement for domestic investors to trade exclusively through Ministry of Finance-licensed platforms includes a built-in buffer. Under Resolution 05, a six-month transition period begins only after the Ministry of Finance issues its first official crypto service provider license. Because no final license has been granted, the six-month countdown has not yet commenced.
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