Vietnam has officially begun the procedure of accepting applications for licenses to allow the trade of virtual assets, a procedure that has been viewed as a milestone step towards the launch of a long-awaited cryptocurrency market. The State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) confirmed the move on Tuesday, stating that it will accept applications starting Jan. 20, 2026, as part of its wider plan to bring crypto under formal oversight.
The licensing window follows the release of updated administrative procedures under Decision No. 96 from Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance. The decision operationalizes an earlier resolution that laid the groundwork for piloting a regulated crypto asset market over a multi-year timeframe.
Vietnam activates its crypto pilot after years of planning
Vietnam’s new licensing phase also builds on the Law on the Digital Technology Industry, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2026. This law defines digital assets and crypto assets in statute for the first time, giving regulators a clearer legal foundation to supervise exchanges and trading platforms.
However, Vietnam still draws a hard line between recognition and payment use. While the country recognizes crypto assets as property, it does not classify them as legal tender. Regulators also maintain restrictions that prevent crypto from being used as an official payment method, reinforcing the government’s cautious approach.
Banks and brokerages prepare to enter the market
Even though the pilot now has a live licensing process, Vietnam has not yet confirmed any approved exchanges. In October 2025, the Ministry of Finance said no company had applied for participation in the five-year crypto pilot at the time due to strict requirements and high capital thresholds.
Now, with Wednesday’s report in Vietnam News that about 10 securities companies and banks have publicly announced plans to participate once regulators give the word on licensing.
These include SSI Securities, which launched SSI Digital in 2022, and VIX Securities, which invested in its exchange-focused unit VIXEX. Major banks such as Military Bank, Techcombank, and VPBank have also signaled interest.
Importantly, these institutions are not yet operating licensed trading platforms. Instead, they are preparing applications and internal infrastructure, planning to launch only after regulatory clearance.
No exchange approvals yet despite licensing launch
Despite the milestone, Vietnam has not announced that it has received or approved any applications since opening the window. That gap matters because it highlights that Vietnam is still in the early operational phase of the pilot, where paperwork begins, but enforcement and approvals may take time.
This also means market participants cannot yet assume that the licensing process will produce fast results, especially given the government’s cautious stance.
Vietnam enforces one of the region’s strictest frameworks
Vietnam’s crypto licensing framework ranks among the most restrictive in Asia. When the country launched its five-year crypto market pilot in September 2025, it introduced rules that sharply limit what exchanges and platforms can do.
Under the framework, applicants must be Vietnamese entities with a minimum paid-in capital of 10 trillion dong (about $380 million). Institutional shareholders must hold at least 65% of the capital, and foreign ownership cannot exceed 49%.
Vietnam also bans the issuance of digital assets backed by fiat currencies or securities, signaling that regulators want trading activity under strict control and without stablecoin-like structures inside the pilot.
If this regime is implemented by Vietnam successfully, then it has the ability to shift the market from informal participation to institution-led trading; however, the strict bar to licensing ensures that only major players with deep balance sheets can enter.
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