Is TCEX Simply Waiting for Its License After Completing Its 10 Trillion VND Capital Registration?
After completing its 10 trillion VND capital registration, TCEX is not simply “sitting back and waiting for a license.” Instead, having cleared the stringent capital threshold, it has officially entered the final sprint phase of paid-in capital auditing and second-round substantive review.
On November 11, 2026, Techcom Securities (TCBS) and its affiliated crypto-asset platform, TCEX (Techcom Crypto Asset Exchange), officially announced that TCEX had completed a capital increase, successfully bringing its registered capital to the statutory entry threshold of 10 trillion VND (approximately $380 million USD). Under Vietnam’s high-barrier cryptocurrency pilot framework, this milestone marks the near-completion of TCEX’s “shareholder capital contribution task,” though final regulatory review procedures must still be completed before the exchange can officially launch operations.
1. What 10 Trillion VND Means: Crossing the Strictest Capital Red Line
Under Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP issued by the Vietnamese government, Vietnam launched a five-year pilot program for licensed crypto-asset exchanges, strictly capping the total number of pilot licenses nationwide at a maximum of five. To mitigate financial risks, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance established entry barriers that are exceptionally high even across the Asia-Pacific region and globally:
- Minimum Paid-in Capital: Operators must have a minimum paid-in registered capital of 10 trillion VND.
- Shareholder Background Restrictions: At least 65% of the capital must be held by institutional shareholders, of which more than 35% must be contributed by at least two “qualified institutions” such as banks, securities firms, funds, insurance companies, or technology firms. Foreign ownership is capped at 49%.
Starting with 3 billion VND in May 2025, TCEX underwent multiple rounds of capital increases before major shareholder TokenBay (holding an 88.9% stake) and core financial partner TCBS (which raised its investment to 1.1 trillion VND, increasing its stake from 9.9% to 11%) joined forces in early November 2026 to push TCEX’s capital over the 10 trillion VND mark. This means TCEX has secured the most critical—and most expensive—piece of the licensing puzzle.
2. Post-Capital Increase: Not Passive Waiting, But a “Second-Round Gauntlet”
Under Vietnam’s licensing process, announcing the fulfillment of the 10 trillion VND capital requirement does not equate to receiving an operating permit. According to the joint regulatory framework of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Security, TCEX is currently at a critical juncture of “preliminary compliance cleared, final review materials pending submission,” and must complete three substantive steps next:
| Review Phase | Core Assessment Criteria | TCEX Current Progress |
| Phase 1: Preliminary Review & Security Certification | Completeness review of application documents (Ministry of Finance); Level 4 information system security certification (Department of Cybersecurity, Ministry of Public Security) | Completed. Passed preliminary review by the Ministry of Finance and received Level 4 information security plan approval from the Ministry of Public Security in October 2026. |
| Phase 2: Paid-in Capital & Audit | Full deposit of the 10 trillion VND capital and issuance of an independent third-party capital verification audit report | In Progress. Capital increase procedures were just completed; the next step is submitting the formal paid-in capital audit report. |
| Phase 3: Second-Round Substantive Review | Look-through equity compliance verification, stress testing of core matching/custody systems, and acceptance of risk control and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) procedures | Pending Submission. Upon completing capital verification, the second-round application dossier must be formally submitted to the Ministry of Finance for final inspection. |
Clearly, Vietnam crypto exchange TCEX is not “passively waiting around for a license.” Rather, it must press ahead at full speed with capital verification auditing and the independent deployment of its core trading, custody, and monitoring systems, before formally submitting its complete second-round application dossier for final joint evaluation by the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the Ministry of Public Security.