Vietnam's Ministry of Finance began accepting applications on Tuesday from companies planning to legally operate as cryptocurrency exchanges. Previously, the cryptocurrency market in the country was unregulated.
The pilot program includes administrative procedures for issuing, amending, and revoking licenses. The program is designed for five years and intended to test a regulatory model for the crypto asset market.
According to the government portal, about 10 companies, including financial and investment organizations, have already expressed their intention to provide crypto asset exchange services after obtaining a license.
According to an estimate by the analytical company Chainalysis, the total volume of cryptocurrency transactions in Vietnam amounted to $220–230 billion between July 2024 and June 2025, which corresponds to more than $600 million per day.
In terms of transaction volume, the country is among the top three largest markets in the Asia-Pacific region, second only to India and South Korea, and accounts for about 10% of the total volume of crypto transactions in the region.
The most common digital assets include cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as various types of tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The Law on Digital Technologies came into force in Vietnam on January 1, 2026. The document defined the legal status of digital assets and created a framework for their regulation.
Today, Vietnam ranks fifth in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption, and the total value of crypto assets owned by residents of the country is estimated at approximately $100 billion.