Vietnam has approved five companies to take part in a five-year pilot for what would become the country’s first officially regulated crypto exchanges, with the first platform potentially going live in the third quarter of 2026. The move marks a significant step for a market where crypto activity has grown rapidly but has largely operated without a domestic regulatory framework.

The push appears closely tied to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force, which has kept Vietnam on its grey list since June 2023 over shortcomings in anti-money laundering controls and related oversight. Virtual assets and crypto service providers were among the areas identified as weak in the latest review.

FATF pressure shapes the timetable

Vietnam had been expected to complete its FATF action plan by May 2025, but that deadline passed more than a year ago. By the end of June, the country had completed only three of the 17 measures in its revised plan.

According to the assessment, Vietnam still has gaps across ten key areas. The government’s effort to stand up a supervised crypto market is therefore not just a financial-sector initiative, but part of a broader attempt to address weaknesses that have drawn international scrutiny.

A large and active crypto market

The regulatory push is also unfolding against the backdrop of very high crypto adoption. More than 17 million people in Vietnam held crypto in 2024, equivalent to roughly one in six residents.

Chainalysis ranked Vietnam fourth on its 2025 global crypto adoption index. The firm also estimated that the country received more than $200 billion in crypto between June 2024 and June 2025, a 55% increase from the previous year. That volume made Vietnam the third-largest crypto market in Asia-Pacific, behind only India and South Korea.

High entry bar for licensed operators

Vietnam’s draft framework sets a demanding threshold for firms seeking a license. Participants in the regulated market must have at least 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, or about $381.8 million, in paid-up capital.

Licensed businesses will also be required to establish ten operating procedures covering areas such as custody, trading, risk management and anti-money laundering. In addition, their information-technology systems must satisfy Level 4 security standards.

Why the broader stakes matter

The consequences of remaining on the FATF grey list extend beyond digital assets. An IMF study covering 89 developing economies found that grey-listing was associated with an average decline in capital inflows of about 7.6% of GDP, affecting both foreign direct investment and portfolio flows.

That means Vietnam’s effort to regulate crypto is tied not only to oversight of a fast-growing market, but also to wider concerns about investment conditions and international confidence in the country’s controls against illicit finance.

What comes next

For now, the next confirmed step is the pilot itself. Five companies have already been cleared to participate, and the first regulated exchange could begin operating as soon as Q3 2026.

How quickly the pilot develops will likely matter both for domestic market supervision and for Vietnam’s broader effort to show progress on the FATF measures it still has outstanding.

Source: Coin Edition