Vietnam has not issued its first crypto exchange license, but five applicants have cleared an initial assessment under the country's five-year digital asset market pilot. The screening does not authorize any firm to operate, and regulators have not named the companies or set a decision date. Separately, a new penalty decree takes effect September 1, though domestic traders won't face immediate fines for using unlicensed offshore platforms.
Five companies have passed an initial review stage toward becoming Vietnam's first licensed crypto exchanges, state securities officials disclosed at the Vietnam RWA Summit 2026. To Tran Hoa, deputy standing head of the Digital Asset Trading Market Board under the State Securities Commission, shared the update, according to an Aug. 30 Vietnam News Agency report. Authorities didn't name the applicants or say when final licensing decisions will come, and clearing the assessment doesn't authorize any company to operate an exchange.
A $383 million threshold for applicants
Vietnam's Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP requires each exchange applicant to hold at least 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, approximately $383 million, in contributed charter capital, paid in dong. At least 65% of that capital must come from institutional shareholders, and more than 35% must come from at least two qualifying organizations such as banks, securities firms, fund managers, insurers or technology companies.
Applicants must also obtain an appraisal showing their technology meets Level 4 information-system security standards, assessed by the Ministry of Public Security. Other requirements cover management qualifications, custody, transaction monitoring, internal controls, conflict management, customer complaints, anti-money-laundering systems and investor-identity verification. Vietnam hasn't said whether the five preliminary applicants have already secured the full capital amount.
New penalties arrive September 1
Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP takes effect Sept. 1 and stays in force while Resolution 05 governs the pilot. It sets fines of 180 million to 200 million dong for organizations offering crypto services or advertising an exchange without a license, and authorities can order affected websites, software and trading systems removed. Licensed providers that fail to separate customer assets, monitor transactions or protect account information also face fines. Failing to verify customers can bring organizational penalties of 50 million to 70 million dong. Individuals generally face half the stated organizational amount, with a maximum penalty of 200 million dong for organizations and 100 million dong for individuals.
Domestic traders get a reprieve, for now
Article 9 of the decree sets a 30 million to 50 million dong fine for domestic investors trading outside a Ministry of Finance-licensed provider. But that penalty doesn't start automatically on Sept. 1.
Article 7 of Resolution 05 ties the rule to a trigger: domestic investors become subject to the licensed-platform requirement only six months after the first crypto asset service provider is approved. Because Vietnam hasn't licensed any provider yet, that six-month clock hasn't started, so domestic investors won't be fined solely for continuing to use an overseas or otherwise unlicensed platform, according to experts cited by VNA. Other violations under Decree 284, including operating or advertising an unauthorized platform, still become enforceable Sept. 1.
Vietnam introduced the pilot through Resolution 05 on Sept. 9, 2025, and had previously signaled that only a limited number of exchanges would receive licenses. The next milestone is the Ministry of Finance's first cryptocurrency exchange license, which will start the six-month countdown for domestic investors. No licensing deadline has been announced.
Source: crypto.news
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