If SCEX is licensed, what will change?
SCEX began to attract attention when Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thai, son of Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy (also known as ” bầu Thụy”), held the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Notably, after a series of capital increases to 10,000 billion VND, SCEX officially met the minimum capital requirements according to Resolution 05.
So who is leaving their mark behind SCEX, and what is the exchange preparing for in the licensing race in Vietnam?
1. What is SCEX?
SCEX is the brand of Sacom Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company, a Vietnamese enterprise building a cryptocurrency trading platform for the domestic market. The company’s predecessor was LPEX, whose full name at the time of establishment was Loc Phat Vietnam Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company.
You can register for SCEX via this link to experience simulated trading, and remember to enter the referral code.62045483Be sure to take advantage of the special offers when the platform officially launches!
SCEX trading floor simulator interface – Source: X SCEX
SCEX is still undergoing the assessment process to apply for a license to provide services for organizing cryptocurrency trading markets under Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP. However, what has drawn attention to SCEX is that its application is among the top 5 out of 7 applications deemed complete and valid by the Ministry of Finance in the initial review round, thus warranting further consideration for licensing.
According to the direction announced by SCEX, the platform is built specifically for Vietnamese users and aims to connect three previously quite separate components: cryptocurrency trading, the domestic financial system, and compliance with Vietnamese law. I will go into more detail about the specific product below.
2. The SCEX formation process
In less than a year, the company changed its name, increased its capital more than 50 times, and significantly altered its leadership team:
- September 30, 2025. The company was established under the name Loc Phat Vietnam Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company, abbreviated LPEX . Its initial headquarters were located on the 20th floor of LPB Tower, 210 Tran Quang Khai Street, Hanoi, which is also the location of LPBank’s headquarters. The initial charter capital was only 6.8 billion VND . The three founding shareholders were Mr. Duong Van Quyet (40%), Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc (30%), and Mr. Vu Phat Dat (30%). The General Director and legal representative was Mr. Nguyen Duy Phong.
- On February 11, 2026, LPEX increased its charter capital from VND 6.8 billion to VND 360 billion , approximately 53 times. However, the shareholder structure after this capital increase was not publicly disclosed.
- April 22, 2026. A notable development occurred outside of LPEX. Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy, who previously held the position of Chairman of LPBank until the end of 2025, was elected to the Board of Directors of Sacombank and subsequently appointed as Permanent Vice Chairman.
- April 28, 2026. Just six days later, LPEX completed its name change to Sacom Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company, abbreviated as SCEX .
- August 2026: The company will further increase its charter capital from 360 billion to 5,000 billion VND.
- October 2, 2026: The Board of Directors of LPS Securities Joint Stock Company approved the plan to purchase additional shares issued by SCEX. The company’s head office is located at 257 Dien Bien Phu Street, Ho Chi Minh City.
- October 14, 2026: SCEX officially completed the registration to increase its charter capital from VND 5,000 billion to VND 10,000 billion (equivalent to 1 billion shares). The entire amount is domestic private capital.
Looking at this chain of events, SCEX clearly shows the influence of the group surrounding Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy – also known as “Bau Thuy”. However, there is currently insufficient publicly available data to confirm whether Sacombank or Mr. Thuy directly owns or controls SCEX.
The connection to the group surrounding Mr. Thuy became clearer in early June, when SCEX announced its new Board of Directors. Nguyen Xuan Thai, son of Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy, held the position of Vice Chairman of SCEX . Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy was also present at the launch ceremony and presented flowers to the SCEX Board of Directors.
3. What are the features of the SCEX exchange?
SCEX is not currently licensed for real trading. User accounts currently open on the platform are not yet trading accounts, so the following should be understood as SCEX preparing its product if licensed , based on the terms and conditions and company information already published.
- Spot trading is conducted in VND. SCEX currently designs its products around spot trading, meaning buying an asset and actually owning it, rather than offering futures or margin trading. Resolution 05 also requires that trading and settlement of crypto assets in the pilot program be conducted in Vietnamese Dong.
- Direct bank link: According to the terms published by SCEX, customers will open a payment account at a designated partner bank. When a user places a buy order, the system can check the balance and request the bank to freeze the necessary amount. After the order is matched, the funds are then deducted for payment. Proceeds from the sale of assets can also be transferred back to the customer’s bank account.
- Asset custody is available directly on SCEX. The exchange plans to manage cryptocurrency and assets in trading accounts, record balances, process transfers after orders are executed, and allow deposits, withdrawals, or transfers of assets supported by SCEX. The company has not yet officially announced the list of assets that will be supported when the exchange officially goes live.
- Track transactions and tax obligations. The SCEX website introduces an automated Tax Report as part of the product under development. The terms and conditions also allow for the export of electronic statements, storage of transaction history, and, where required by law, SCEX can deduct, collect taxes, or provide transaction data to competent authorities.
- TradingView charts are integrated directly. SCEX has announced the integration of TradingView’s charting system into its platform, including multiple timeframes and familiar tools such as RSI, MACD, MA, Bollinger Bands, Ichimoku, and Fibonacci. This is a more clearly defined analytical tool than many other features that are still under development.
According to 5 Minutes Crypto , SCEX’s current direction is very close to a “crypto stock exchange,” where trading accounts, bank accounts, custody, identification, and tax data are all connected to a single system. Plans such as tokenizing real assets or providing issuance infrastructure for businesses should be seen as future expansions , not initial features of SCEX.
4. Digital Asset Awareness Program and SCEX Simulator
While awaiting licensing, SCEX has made its product available to users through the SCEX Simulator , a simulated trading platform under the “Digital Asset Inclusion 2026 – Cryptocurrency Arena” program.
Access the SCEX registration link to experience trading and remember to enter the referral code.62045483To take advantage of the launch offers!
Unsure how to register? See how to register for SCEX Simulator and enter your referral code step-by-step.
The program is organized by the Vietnam International Finance Center in Ho Chi Minh City and VBI Academy, with SCEX acting as a strategic technology partner . Participants are provided with 1 billion VND in virtual capital to practice trading, portfolio management, and compete on the leaderboard. The total prize value announced exceeds 1.6 billion VND .
After about a week of deployment, the SCEX Simulator recorded over 52,000 accounts and more than 222,000 simulated orders . However, this is purely a testing environment using virtual currency; no real cryptocurrency transactions are taking place, and this does not mean that SCEX has been licensed to operate.
5. Two SCEX problems still need to be solved before licensing is granted.
A valid application only allows SCEX to proceed to the review stage. To actually be granted a license, the company still has two major issues to resolve.
- First, there’s the capital. Increasing its charter capital from 360 billion to 5,000 billion VND (August 2026) and then reaching 10,000 billion VND makes SCEX the second name among the five eligible candidates to reach this capital threshold, on par with CAEX (owned by VPBank). However, even though SCEX has completed the paperwork to register 10,000 billion VND, the market still needs to wait for audited financial statements or confirmation of capital freeze from the bank to confirm that the company has fully paid 100% of the actual capital.
- The remaining challenge is the shareholder structure. Resolution 05 requires that at least 65% of the exchange’s capital be held by institutions (equivalent to VND 6,500 billion), with over 35% coming from at least two qualified financial or technology institutions. This bottleneck has been initially resolved when, on October 2, 2026, LPS Securities approved the plan to purchase additional shares issued by SCEX, bringing in the first institutional piece of the puzzle. However, the market is still waiting to see what percentage of ownership LPS will hold, and who the second institution partnering with SCEX will be.
6. If SCEX is licensed, what will change?
According to Resolution 05, domestic investors owning crypto assets are allowed to open accounts at licensed institutions to deposit, buy, and sell crypto assets in Vietnam . Transactions and payments within the pilot program must be conducted in VND.
A more crucial milestone lies in the six months following the licensing of the first exchange . After this transition period ends, domestic investors trading crypto assets without going through an organization licensed by the Ministry of Finance may face penalties. Decree 284/2026 stipulates administrative fines of 30-50 million VND for this offense, while Resolution 05 also leaves open the possibility of criminal prosecution depending on the nature and severity of the violation.
Therefore, if SCEX is among the first to be licensed, its biggest advantage is being present right when the Vietnamese market begins to transition from primarily using international exchanges to a domestically regulated trading system. However, SCEX still has to compete with other licensed exchanges such as CAEX, TCEX , VIXEX , Moonbase , etc., because investors can open accounts at many different organizations.（Vietnam Crypto Exchange）