Vietnam’s Digital Asset Exchanges Fall Short of Requirements; How Long Until Legal Trading?
(VNF) – Cryptocurrency exchanges are continuously raising capital, improving their technology systems and operational processes to meet licensing requirements. Meanwhile, investors are also waiting for the first official exchanges to appear, as this is a crucial milestone determining when regulations and penalties for market violations will be applied.
3 out of 5 exchanges have completed their capital increase.
Techcom Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company (TCEX) is the next entity to complete its increase in charter capital to VND 10,000 billion, meeting the minimum capital threshold stipulated for organizations providing cryptocurrency trading market services in Vietnam.
Just nearly a month ago, Sacom Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company (SCEX) also increased its charter capital to VND 10,000 billion, after a rapid capital increase from VND 6.8 billion, equivalent to nearly 1,500 times in less than a year.
Thus, along with Vietnam Prosperity Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company (CAEX) within the VPBank ecosystem – a leading enterprise in the capital increase race – 3 out of 5 enterprises that received preliminary approval to pilot the organization of a cryptocurrency trading market in Vietnam have completed the charter capital requirements.
The remaining two companies, Vietnam Digital Assets Joint Stock Company and VIX Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company (VIXEX), are still maintaining their charter capital at 1,000 billion VND.
According to Government Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP, the minimum contributed charter capital of an organization providing services for organizing cryptocurrency trading markets is VND 10,000 billion. This is one of the important conditions for a business to be licensed to operate in the market.
However, meeting the capital requirements does not mean that the exchanges can immediately begin operations. According to Mr. To Tran Hoa, Deputy Head of the Cryptocurrency Trading Market Management Board, State Securities Commission (Ministry of Finance), the time when the cryptocurrency market officially operates depends on the progress of businesses in completing their procedures.
Currently, five companies have received preliminary approval to begin preparatory activities for the cryptocurrency market before officially launching. After approval, these companies must develop their IT systems and meet security level 4 standards – a high requirement for information system security.
Next, businesses must complete approximately 10 business processes related to transactions, payments, fees, reporting, governance, and other operational activities. After fulfilling these requirements, the business must contribute the minimum charter capital of 10,000 billion VND as stipulated.
Thus, from preliminary approval to official licensing, businesses still have to go through many checks and assessments regarding their financial capacity, technology systems, personnel, and operational processes. The race to raise capital, while intense, is only a part of the preparation process for these exchanges to officially begin operations.
Investors are waiting for the time when trading is legal.
Not only are businesses racing to meet the requirements, but investors in the cryptocurrency market are also interested in when the first exchanges will be licensed and begin operations.
One of the issues of concern to investors is the regulations on penalties for cryptocurrency trading activities. Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP, which stipulates administrative penalties for violations in the field of cryptocurrency, came into effect on September 1, 2026. Accordingly, individuals who violate the regulations can be fined up to 100 million VND, while the fine for organizations can reach up to 200 million VND.
Domestic individual investors who trade cryptocurrencies without going through a cryptocurrency service provider licensed by the Ministry of Finance may be fined between 30 and 50 million VND.
According to Mr. To Tran Hoa, these regulations will only be applied when Vietnam has an official cryptocurrency exchange licensed by the Ministry of Finance. If Decree 284/2026/ND-CP is in effect but no cryptocurrency service provider has been licensed, investors will not be subject to the aforementioned penalties.
This makes the progress in completing the conditions and granting licenses for the exchanges a matter of concern not only for the businesses participating in the pilot program but also for the investor community. The emergence of licensed entities will mark the transition from the preparation phase to the operational phase of the market within the framework of official regulation.
Experts believe that, once enforcement measures are activated, initial sanctions may cause a portion of capital to temporarily shift to self-custodial wallets, peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, or decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to avoid scrutiny.
However, in the medium and long term, if enforcement is consistently maintained, and licensed domestic platforms build liquidity in Vietnamese Dong (VND) and connect with the banking system, capital flows from individual and institutional investors may gradually shift to regulated exchanges. In that case, trading outside of licensed platforms is likely to shrink, focusing more on high-risk and low-liquidity segments.
In the long term, full enforcement of regulations could also encourage the digital asset ecosystem to shift from a speculative model primarily driven by individual investors to a market with a clearer institutional framework, linked to accounting standards and tax deduction mechanisms.
Along with the preparations by businesses, the legal framework for the cryptocurrency market continues to be supplemented. On October 31, 2026, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 165/2026/TT-BTC guiding some contents on reporting and information disclosure in the cryptocurrency market. The Circular will take effect from December 18, 2026, supplementing reporting and information transparency requirements for market participants.（Vietnam Crypto Exchange）