Vietnam Advances Crypto Regulation: 5 Firms Pass Initial Review, Licenses Still Pending

Vietnam moves closer to a regulated crypto market: five firms clear first hurdle but no licenses yet Vietnam has taken a notable step toward a regulated crypto market after five companies passed the initial assessment under the country’s five-year digital asset market pilot — but authorities have not yet issued any operating licenses. The update came from To Tran Hoa, deputy standing head of the Digital Asset Trading Market Board at the State Securities Commission, who revealed the progress at the Vietnam RWA Summit 2026, according to a Vietnam News Agency report on Aug. 30. Regulators did not identify the five applicants or say when final licensing decisions might be made. Importantly, passing the preliminary review does not authorize a firm to operate an exchange. Key licensing thresholds and checks - Minimum contributed charter capital: 10 trillion Vietnamese dong (about $383 million), required in dong rather than foreign currency. - Ownership makeup: At least 65% of capital must come from institutional shareholders; more than 35% must be contributed by at least two qualifying organizations (commercial banks, securities companies, fund managers, insurers or tech firms). - Technology and security: Applicants need an appraisal showing Level 4 information-system security, plus a security assessment conducted by the Ministry of Public Security. - Operational safeguards: Requirements cover management credentials, custody arrangements, transaction monitoring, internal controls, conflict management, customer complaints handling, anti-money laundering systems and investor identity verification. Regulatory framework and penalties Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP — which takes effect Sept. 1 and will operate alongside Resolution 05 that governs the pilot — sets out penalties for unlicensed services, improper token issuance, weak customer checks and AML failures. Highlights include: - Fines of roughly 180–200 million dong for organizations that provide crypto services or advertise an exchange without a license, plus possible removal orders for offending websites, apps and trading systems. - Licensed providers face fines for failures to separate customer assets, monitor transactions or protect account data; organizational fines for not verifying customers range from about 50–70 million dong. - The decree lists organizational fine bands; individuals generally face half the organizational amount. The maximum penalties are 200 million dong for organizations and 100 million dong for individuals. Domestic investor rule and timing One notable penalty in the decree (Article 9) targets domestic investors who trade outside a Ministry of Finance-licensed provider (30–50 million dong for organizations; roughly half for individuals). However, Resolution 05 specifies that domestic investors are subject to the licensed-platform requirement only six months after the government issues the first crypto asset service provider license. Because Vietnam has not yet granted any licenses, that six-month transition period has not started. Experts cited by VNA say domestic investors will not be fined from Sept. 1 solely for continuing to use overseas or unlicensed platforms. That said, other violations defined by Decree 284 — such as operating or advertising unauthorized platforms, improper token issuance and certain data or AML failures — can be enforced as soon as Sept. 1. Pilot design and next steps Resolution 05, launched on Sept. 9, 2025, established a five-year pilot to regulate issuance, custody and trading of digital assets. The framework currently permits locally issued crypto assets to be offered only to foreign investors; eligible tokens must be backed by real-world assets and cannot represent securities or fiat currency under the pilot. Regulators have signaled that only a limited number of exchanges will receive licenses. The immediate watchpoint is the Ministry of Finance’s first license decision. That approval will trigger the six-month countdown after which domestic investors must route covered crypto trading through licensed Vietnamese providers. No licensing deadline has been announced, and regulators have not confirmed whether the five companies that passed the initial assessment already meet the 10 trillion dong capital requirement. What investors and market participants should do - Don’t assume preliminary approvals equal operating permission — wait for formal licenses from the Ministry of Finance and the State Securities Commission. - Monitor official announcements closely; enforcement for certain violations begins Sept. 1 even though the domestic trading mandate won’t kick in until six months after the first license is issued. - Providers should ensure robust security, AML and custody systems to meet the high standards set by Vietnam’s pilot. This first-round clearances mark an important milestone in Vietnam’s cautious move to a regulated crypto landscape — but significant regulatory hurdles and checks remain before any exchange can launch.