Vietnamese companies are racing to secure licenses for the country’s first domestic cryptocurrency exchanges as Hanoi moves to restrict trading on foreign platforms.
A government resolution issued in February calls for a locally managed digital asset exchange pilot program, with possible deployment as early as March.
A Finance Ministry document from March 12 shows that five companies have passed a first round of screening, Reuters reported. These include subsidiaries of three private banks in the country, including Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank, as well as VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group.
The move could reshape a market that has grown rapidly with little formal oversight. Vietnam ranked fourth in Chainalysis’ latest Global Crypto Adoption Index, with Vietnamese users moving around $200 billion in crypto in the year to June 2025.
Officials fear that heavy use of crypto and stablecoins could weaken controls on capital flows. Vietnam already limits cross-border transfers and many households have few places to park their savings beyond gold and real estate.
This helped push gold prices above global levels and fuel waves of real estate speculation, the report said. Vietnam passed a landmark law officially recognizing digital and crypto assets early last year, outlining a general framework for crypto management and fostering innovation in the sector.
