Vietnam is on track to launch its first officially regulated cryptocurrency and digital asset market as early as the third quarter of 2026, marking a dramatic reversal from the country’s 2018 ban on all crypto trading — and potentially reshaping the digital finance landscape in Southeast Asia.
The announcement came from Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi at the “Digital Trust in Finance 2026” forum in Hanoi on May 12. Speaking at the event themed “Building Digital Financial Trust in the AI Era,” Chi said five companies had already been approved by the Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security and the State Bank of Vietnam, to prepare for pilot operations of digital asset trading platforms.
The initiative is anchored in Vietnam’s broader digital transformation agenda, including Politburo Resolution 57-NQ/TW which targets placing the digital economy at 30 percent of GDP by 2030, making 80 percent of all transactions cashless, and ensuring over 40 percent of enterprises engage in innovation activities. Under the framework established by Government Resolution No. 05 — Vietnam’s first legal framework specifically for digital assets — the upcoming exchange will operate under strict safety and transparency requirements, with all trading conducted in Vietnamese dong.
Among the earliest candidates to receive exchange licences are TCEX, backed by Techcombank-affiliated Techcom Securities, and SCEX (formerly LPEX), linked to LPBank and Sacombank. Other players including CAEX have already attracted venture funding from international players such as OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital to meet the VND10 trillion ($380 million) minimum capital threshold.
Vietnam’s entry into regulated crypto markets, if realised in Q3, will make it the latest Southeast Asian jurisdiction to formalise digital asset trading — following Singapore’s pioneering regulatory approach, Thailand’s progressive ETF approvals, and the Philippines’ ongoing DEFA negotiations. The development comes as ASEAN’s digital economy, currently valued at approximately $300 billion, is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030.
Source: Technode Global, VnEconomy, Xinhua — May 13-14, 2026