A shift in management mindset

The resolution highlights Vietnam’s cautious yet progressive entry into the regulated cryptocurrency market, establishing strict control and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of both domestic and foreign organisations and individuals.

Colonel Dr. Hoang Van Thuc, Director of the Academy of Cryptography Techniques, who is also a senior advisor of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Asset Association, stressed that the controlled pilot demonstrates smart risk governance, staying cautious while making breakthroughs. He highlighted it as the clearest evidence of the Party and State’s leadership mindset, which transitions from pure management to a guided development approach.

The State lays the legal foundation for recognising and managing a completely new asset, which, the expert said, is a concrete step to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of investors, enterprises, and people while preventing illegal activities.

The pilot programme could not be successful through a free-float or loose management, particularly with crypto assets which are tied to complicated technologies and exposed to non-traditional security risks. Thuc explained that the State-controlled crypto market not only ensures financial security but also affirms the nation’s digital sovereignty.

The five-year trial, he said, is a carefully calculated timeframe, long enough to test, evaluate, and adapt policies while ensuring financial stability, adding that developing a crypto asset trading market is not merely creating a transaction platform but also building trust as well as promoting transparency and social responsibility.

Vietnam needs a pool of well-trained specialists in information security, blockchain technology, and digital financial risk management to operate the market in a safe and transparent way, he added.

Building legal framework aligned with international standards

Financial experts said the resolution is a blueprint for Vietnam’s crypto asset trading market during the trial period.

Chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Asset Association Phan Duc Trung said the issuance of the resolution underscores the Government’s determination in creating an enabling environment for investors and refine policies in line with international norms, helping to build confidence among global investors.

Under the resolution, any service provider needs a chartered capital of at least VND10 trillion (US$379 million), at least 65% of which must be contributed by institutional investors. This standard, Trung explained, diverges from international practice, where technology, compliance, insurance, human resources, and money laundering controls are often prioritised over capital thresholds. However, in Vietnam’s pilot phase, the rule is meant to ensure that only players capable of covering losses and protect investors can enter the market.

The regulation, however, has sparked concern among startups, with several Vietnamese blockchain startups having already restricted domestic transactions to review compliance risks. Trung stated that while Vietnam has long supported innovation through startup initiatives in Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Ministry of Science and Technology, new complementary legal corridors should be penned to balance innovation with effective management.

The association will continue coordination with competent ministries to build a complete legal framework in the earliest time, he added.

Vietnam moves to transform digital assets into real economic value

Vietnam has taken a major step towards transforming digital assets into real economic value with the passage of the Law on Digital Technology Industry at the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly.