Catenaa, Wednesday, January 28, 2026-Vietnam has begun accepting applications from firms seeking to operate licensed cryptocurrency exchanges, launching a tightly controlled pilot framework that sets one of Asia’s highest capital thresholds for market entry.
The State Securities Commission said applications opened Tuesday under new procedures issued by the Ministry of Finance, implementing Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP on piloting the country’s cryptocurrency market. The framework limits participation to Vietnamese enterprises and caps foreign ownership in licensed exchanges at 49%.
Applicants must hold a minimum contributed charter capital of 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, nearly $400 million, along with meeting strict requirements on governance, staffing and technical infrastructure. The capital bar far exceeds thresholds in regional financial hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore, which rely more heavily on supervision than balance sheet size.
The licensing process activates legislation approved by Vietnam’s National Assembly in June 2025 that recognized cryptocurrencies as property under civil law. A follow-up resolution adopted in September laid out a sandbox-style market structure, with this week’s intake marking the start of implementation.
The Ministry of Finance said at least 10 domestic securities firms and banks have signaled interest. Several institutions have spent the past two years preparing platforms, partnerships and internal systems in anticipation of regulatory clearance.
Market observers expect a gradual transition by users. Early trading activity is likely to be split between newly licensed domestic platforms and existing offshore exchanges until local venues expand liquidity, product range and pricing.
The rollout comes as Vietnam continues efforts to strengthen investor safeguards and anti-money laundering oversight, issues that have contributed to the country’s placement on the Financial Action Task Force grey list despite strong retail crypto use.
