Vietnam plans to require all domestic cryptocurrency exchanges – including transactions in Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins like USDT and USDC – to be settled in Vietnamese dong, a rule that would effectively ban dollar transactions on licensed platforms.
All eyes on licensing
The demand came from a conference in Hanoi on Friday, where officials from the National Securities Commission, the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Public Security gathered alongside banks, securities firms and blockchain industry groups to discuss the country’s path toward formal crypto regulation.
Officials said all transactions would eventually have to go through licensed virtual asset service providers, although investors would still be allowed to keep their assets in their personal wallets. Foreign investors would be allowed to open accounts and participate in the market, while domestic participation would initially be limited to those who already hold crypto assets.
Bui Hoang Hai, vice chairman of the National Securities Commission, said Vietnam is in a critical phase of building a legal framework for digital finance, including a pilot program for crypto-asset trading platforms under Government Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP.
He said the country has a real opportunity to attract international capital, unlock new business models and strengthen its position in the regional fintech space – but only if the market is built on transparent rules, sound risk management and strong investor protections.
A market already in motion
Vietnam is not starting from scratch. Data from the conference places the country seventh in the world in terms of number of crypto users and fifth in terms of transaction growth. In the Asia-Pacific region, the value of digital asset transactions soared to around $2.4 trillion as of June 2025, according to Phan Duc Trung, president of the Vietnam Blockchain Association.
He also pointed to the rise of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds as a sign that the market is attracting more traditional investors – BlackRock alone currently manages around $67 billion in Bitcoin ETF assets.
Chris Chiew, senior advisor at CAEX, said at the conference that tokenization of real-world assets could expand access to investments by allowing high-value holdings in real estate, infrastructure and commodities to be divided into smaller digital units and traded more easily.
He said potential assets for tokenization include gold, industrial facilities, data centers, energy projects and port systems. Global token asset markets could reach $19 trillion by 2033, with Vietnam’s share projected to be between $70 billion and $80 billion by 2030, based on industry figures presented at the conference.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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