Vietnam expects its first licensed crypto asset service providers to receive approvals and begin operating in 2026 under a five-year pilot for the domestic digital asset market. The plan marks the next step in the country’s effort to build a formal framework for crypto activity while regulators continue to prepare the supervision system that would govern licensed firms and investor activity.
Progress has been made on the licensing track, but the process is not yet complete. Five companies have passed an initial assessment under the pilot framework, though no final exchange license had been issued as of Aug. 30, and passing that review does not permit a company to run a crypto trading platform.
Pilot framework moves toward market launch
Vietnam has said the first wave of licensed crypto asset service providers is expected to start operations in 2026. The planned launch would take place within a five-year market pilot designed to test how the country supervises digital asset businesses before a broader permanent regime is put in place.
Authorities have described the pilot as a legal framework for crypto assets, with further work still underway on the operating rules that would apply once licensed platforms go live. That means the policy direction has been set, but important details of implementation remain in development.
Initial reviews completed for five companies
According to the update, five companies have already passed an initial assessment under the pilot. Even so, that step falls short of full approval and does not allow those firms to begin exchange or trading operations.
As of Aug. 30, no final exchange license had been granted. That leaves the market in a transitional phase where candidate providers have cleared an early screening process, but regulators have not yet authorized any company to launch a live trading platform.
Supervision rules focus on core safeguards
Vietnamese regulators are still building the supervision framework that would sit around the pilot market. The stated priorities include risk management, protection of investor assets, and anti-money laundering controls.
Those areas suggest the government is trying to establish the compliance and oversight tools needed before licensed crypto businesses begin serving the public. Rather than opening the market immediately after the first assessments, officials are continuing to shape the rules that would govern both firms and users.
Authorities look abroad for regulatory experience
Vietnam is also seeking input from outside its borders as it prepares its domestic framework. Officials said they are looking to regulatory experience from Austria and the European Union while developing the approach for the local crypto market.
Discussions with Austria included how financial authorities can adapt oversight to technological change and new categories of assets. That cross-border engagement indicates Vietnam is not only drafting a pilot system, but also comparing it with established regulatory practices elsewhere.
What comes next
The next confirmed step is the completion of the supervision rules and the issuance of final licenses to approved providers. Until that happens, the five companies that passed the initial assessment remain unauthorized to operate trading platforms.
If the current plan holds, 2026 will be the year when Vietnam’s first licensed crypto asset service providers begin operating under the five-year pilot. For now, however, the rollout remains dependent on final approvals and the completion of the oversight framework.
Source: crypto.news