Vietnam’s Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi noted a pilot program for fintech activities, including digital assets and cryptocurrency transactions at the financial center, to be submitted to the Prime Minister in March this year. This move demonstrates many of the impacts and potential of the cryptocurrency market.
The Vietnamese government announced
according to Vietnamese government newsOn the afternoon of March 5, 2025, Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi made noteworthy comments to the cryptocurrency sector during a regular government press conference.
He announced that Vietnam will launch its first pilot cryptocurrency exchange in March this year. According to him, the pilot program will provide a legal trading platform for individual and institutional investors.
This exchange stands out due to its clear legal framework as it operates under the formal approval of the Vietnamese government. This movement ensures that investors’ rights are legally recognized and protected.
Source: Government News – Socialist Republic of Vietnam
At the end of February, in discussions with the Central Committee on Policy and Economic Growth Targets, the Vietnamese forest chief secretary stressed the need to explore the implementation of a controlled sandbox mechanism to establish mechanisms for digital asset exchange.
The motivation for revolution
Vietnam has great potential to integrate technology into finance, and the market has shown a strong adaptation to the cryptocurrency industry. According to the Vietnam Blockchain Association (VBA), Vietnam currently has the second highest cryptocurrency ownership rate in the world, with more than 17 million people holding cryptocurrency assets, accounting for 21.2% of the country’s total population. In terms of crypto ownership percentage, Vietnam surpassed the United States (15.6%) and lags behind the UAE only in the UAE (30.4%). According to a market analysis report by Chainalysis, digital assets flowed into Vietnam in 2023.
Source: Mie A.
Currently, Vietnam has no clear definition of digital assets. Existing regulations cover only electronic funds backed by Fiat, such as crypto wallets or prepaid bank cards. Meanwhile, popular digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are still not officially recognized.
The lack of a legal framework has also prompted many businesses to register in other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong or the United States before operating in Vietnam, resulting in tax losses. From the user’s perspective, legal uncertainty has caused many traditional investors to hesitate to enter the crypto market and lead to suspicion and trading risks of investors. Therefore, establishing a legal framework to define and set valuation methods for digital assets as soon as possible will help businesses obtain bank funds, allowing them to secure their investment capital.
The potential of Vietnamese players
Notifications to establish a pilot crypto exchange in Vietnam provide some potential for the market, especially business owners and investors.
For Web3 and Crypto businesses, this notification can provide opportunities for adopting blockchain and digital assets. In addition, they can enhance global competitiveness while enabling them to attract international investors. It will also provide new capital raising opportunities by allowing them to issue tokens as an alternative to traditional financing methods such as bank loans or stock issuance, especially for startups and small blockchain projects.
On the other hand, investors will be able to diversify their portfolio by adding cryptocurrencies or digital assets to options like stocks, real estate or gold. Supported by regulatory oversight, pilot communication reduces the risk of fraud related to scams that have recently plagued Vietnam, such as multi-level marketing programs with digital currencies. Ultimately, Vietnam’s strong crypto market, with 21% ownership in 2021-2022, with capital inflows of $120 billion by 2023, promises high profits to investors.
