Vietnam Tests Electronic Money Trading Market in 5-Year Pilot Phase

Vietnam has approved a 5-year pilot program for cryptocurrency trading, opening a tightly controlled gateway into a rapidly developing market without official regulations. This resolution only allows Vietnamese companies to operate the platform. Additionally, according to the government's announcement on Tuesday, the resolution requires that all activities related to the issuance, trading, and payment of cryptocurrency assets must be conducted in Vietnamese Dong. Only Vietnamese companies can issue tokens and they may only be sold to foreign investors. Vietnam Sets Strict Standards for Cryptocurrency Exchanges The regulations set high standards for participation. First of all, any exchange provider must hold at least 10 trillion VND, equivalent to 379 million USD, in capital. In addition, institutional investors must contribute no less than 65%. Finally, the foreign ownership ratio in exchanges is limited to 49%. Last year, Vietnam ranked fifth in Chainalysis's global adoption index. It is estimated that 17 million Vietnamese own digital assets, with a total value of holdings exceeding 100 billion dollars. The pilot program will create opportunities for both domestic cryptocurrency holders and foreign investors. Vietnamese individuals who own cryptocurrency will be able to open accounts on licensed exchanges. After the first license is issued, investors will have six months to transition to licensed exchanges. Afterwards, any transactions by Vietnamese individuals on unlicensed exchanges will be considered illegal. However, the government has not yet specified the penalties. The Pilot Project is Built on Digital Technology Law and Implementing Blockchain Officials view this move as part of a broader effort to manage the rapidly growing digital economy of the country. In early June, the National Assembly passed the Digital Technology Industry Law. For the first time, this law defines, classifies, and establishes rules for managing digital assets. By July, the government had deployed NDAChain, a licensed layer 1 blockchain designed to anchor Vietnam's national digital infrastructure. This system is operated by the Data Innovation and Exploitation Center of the Ministry of Public Security and was developed in conjunction with the National Data Association. The new pilot project is built on that foundation, combining a cautious management approach with the awareness that cryptocurrency has deeply embedded itself in the financial landscape of Vietnam. The Country Considered As A Dynamic Market For Adoption Meanwhile, the government is aiming to balance innovation and regulation. By requiring domestic control over platforms and tying all transactions to the dong, regulators want to mitigate risks while still allowing capital to flow through legal channels. In the next five years, the experiment will provide time to measure market behavior and assess the effectiveness of protective measures. In return, the results may help Vietnam decide whether to expand or tighten access rights after the pilot program ends. At the same time, Vietnam's decision also places Vietnam on the increasingly long list of Asian economies experimenting with official frameworks for digital assets. As a result, the outcomes will be closely watched by global investors, who view Vietnam as one of the most dynamic markets for cryptocurrency adoption.