Vietnam Crypto Exchange Licensing: Five Applicants Pass Initial Assessment
Vietnam has not yet issued its first crypto exchange license, but five companies have passed an initial assessment under the country’s five-year digital asset market pilot.
To Tran Hoa, deputy standing head of the Digital Asset Trading Market Board under Vietnam’s State Securities Commission, disclosed the update at the Vietnam RWA Summit 2026, according to an Aug. 30 report from the Vietnam News Agency.
Authorities have not identified the five applicants or announced when final licensing decisions will be made. Passing the initial assessment does not authorize any company to operate a crypto exchange.
Vietnam crypto exchange applicants face $383 million capital requirement
Vietnam’s Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP requires every crypto exchange applicant to hold at least 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, approximately $383 million, in contributed charter capital. The capital must be contributed in Vietnamese dong.
Institutional shareholders must provide at least 65% of the capital. More than 35% must come from at least two qualifying organizations, such as commercial banks, securities companies, fund managers, insurers or technology companies.
Applicants must also obtain an appraisal confirming that their technology meets Level 4 information-system security standards. The Ministry of Public Security is responsible for the required security assessment before an exchange can begin operating.
Other licensing conditions address management qualifications, asset custody, transaction monitoring, internal controls, conflict management and customer complaints. Applicants must also maintain anti-money laundering and investor-identity verification systems.
The 10 trillion dong requirement refers to charter capital, not an additional licensing fee paid to the government. Vietnam has not confirmed whether all five preliminary applicants have already secured the full amount.
New Vietnam crypto penalties take effect Sept. 1
Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP takes effect on Sept. 1 and will apply while Resolution 05 governs the crypto market pilot. It introduces penalties for unlicensed services, improper issuance, inadequate customer checks and anti-money laundering failures.
Organizations that provide crypto services or advertise an exchange without a license can face fines of between 180 million and 200 million dong. Authorities may also order the removal of websites, software and trading systems involved in violations.
Licensed service providers can be fined for failing to separate customer assets, monitor transactions or protect account information. Organizations that fail to verify customers can face fines ranging from 50 million to 70 million dong.
The decree generally sets fine levels for organizations. Individuals who commit the same violations ordinarily face half the stated amount. The maximum penalty is 200 million dong for an organization and 100 million dong for an individual.
Domestic traders will not face immediate platform fines
Article 9 sets an organizational fine of 30 million to 50 million dong for domestic investors who trade outside a provider licensed by the Ministry of Finance. Under the general half-rate provision, an individual could face a fine of between 15 million and 25 million dong.
However, this penalty will not automatically apply from Sept. 1. Article 7 of Resolution 05 states that domestic investors become subject to the licensed-platform requirement six months after the first crypto asset service provider receives approval.
Vietnam has not licensed any provider, so the six-month transition period has not started. Domestic investors therefore will not be fined from Sept. 1 solely for continuing to use an overseas or otherwise unlicensed platform, according to experts cited by the Vietnam News Agency.
Other violations covered by Decree 284 can still become enforceable on Sept. 1. These include operating or advertising an unauthorized platform, improperly issuing tokens and certain failures involving customer data or anti-money laundering controls.
First crypto exchange license will start Vietnam’s six-month countdown
Vietnam introduced the pilot through Resolution 05 on Sept. 9, 2025. The five-year regulated crypto market pilot established rules for issuance, custody, trading and licensed service providers.
Under the initial framework, locally issued crypto assets may be offered only to foreign investors. Eligible tokens must be backed by real-world assets and cannot represent securities or fiat currencies under the pilot.
Vietnam has previously indicated that only a limited number of exchanges would receive licenses. The report that five companies passed the initial assessment does not mean that all five will ultimately be approved.
The key next step is the Ministry of Finance’s first crypto exchange license. That decision will begin the six-month period after which domestic investors must conduct covered crypto trading through licensed Vietnamese providers.
No licensing deadline has been announced. Investors should monitor official notices from the Ministry of Finance and the State Securities Commission rather than treating preliminary assessments as authorization to operate.
