TL;DR:
- Vietnam plans to launch its regulated cryptocurrency market in the third quarter of 2026, according to the Deputy Minister of Finance.
- Five companies linked to private banks and local conglomerates already passed the initial round to operate the country’s first regulated exchange.
- Vietnam ranks fourth in Chainalysis’s global crypto adoption index and processed $200 billion in onchain transactions over one year.
Vietnam is moving toward formalizing one of Asia’s most active cryptocurrency markets. Nguyen Duc Chi, Deputy Minister of Finance, confirmed at the Digital Trust in Finance 2026 forum that the regulated crypto asset market could register its first official activity in the third quarter of 2026. “We believe that, as early as the third quarter, Vietnam could witness the first official activities of its crypto asset market, operating under a framework designed to ensure security and transparency,” Chi stated, according to VnEconomy.
Earlier this year, authorities opened a licensing pathway for crypto asset platforms wishing to operate in the country. Vietnam aims for the digital economy to represent at least 30% of GDP by 2030.
The Race for Vietnam’s First Regulated Exchange
In March, five local companies passed the initial qualification round to operate the country’s first regulated exchange. Among them are subsidiaries of private banks Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank, alongside brokerage firm VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group.
In February, the government also presented a draft of an abusive and restrictive tax framework that proposes taxing crypto transactions similarly to traditional securities, applying an individual tax of 0.1% on each transaction processed through an authorized provider. This implies both excessive control and a levy on each and every transaction carried out by citizens.
Abusive and Restrictive Regulations
The majority of local traders still rely on offshore exchanges such as Binance, OKX and Bybit. To reverse that trend, Vietnam launched a five-year pilot program in September 2025 requiring all transactions to be conducted in Vietnamese dong through locally registered companies. A suffocating measure that will likely act as a constraint once the market begins to be regulated.
Vietnam ranks fourth in Chainalysis’s 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind India, the United States and Pakistan, and third in onchain value received with approximately $200 billion in transactions in the twelve months prior to June 2025.
