Vietnam
Is crypto legal in Vietnam? (2026)
Yes — crypto is legal to own and trade in Vietnam, though not as a means of payment. The Law on Digital Technology Industry, effective January 2026, recognises digital assets; Resolution 05/2025 pilots licensed exchanges. Oversight sits with the Ministry of Finance. Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-05-03).
Executive summary
Vietnam is among the world's highest-adoption cryptoasset jurisdictions — and, until 2026, one of its least-regulated — consistently ranking in the top 5 of the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index since 2021. Approximately 17 million Vietnamese residents (roughly 17% of the population) hold or have held cryptoassets according to multiple industry surveys. That began to change with Vietnam's Law on Digital Technology Industry (in force 1 January 2026), which recognises digital assets, and Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP, which launched a Ministry of Finance pilot crypto-asset market; the Ministry of Finance began accepting exchange-licence applications from January 2026. As of mid-2026, however, no exchange has yet been fully licensed under the pilot, and there is no recognised stablecoin issuance regime. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) maintains a long-standing prohibition on cryptoasset-as-means-of-payment dating to 2018, while the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) operate parallel partial-supervision regimes. Decree 13/2023 on personal data protection and ongoing MIC/SBV joint guidance through 2024-2025 represent incremental policy direction. The prospective comprehensive Vietnamese digital-asset law expected 2026-2027 will be one of the most consequential APAC cryptoasset regulatory developments. The combination of high adoption, vibrant developer ecosystem (Sky Mavis/Axie Infinity, Kyber Network, Coin98), and regulatory ambiguity produces a distinctive APAC cryptoasset market.
Regulatory architecture overview
Vietnamese financial regulation operates through multiple central-government authorities under the constitutional framework of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The State Bank of Vietnam (Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam, SBV) is the central bank under the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, exercising monetary policy, banking supervision, foreign exchange control, and payment-systems oversight. The State Securities Commission (Ủy ban Chứng khoán Nhà nước, SSC) is the securities regulator under the Law on Securities, supervising stock exchanges, securities firms, and capital markets. The Ministry of Finance (Bộ Tài chính, MoF) handles broader financial-services policy, taxation through the General Department of Taxation (Tổng cục Thuế), and customs through the General Department of Customs. The Ministry of Information and Communications (Bộ Thông tin và Truyền thông, MIC) handles digital infrastructure, telecommunications, internet services, and emerging technology including cryptoassets through joint working groups with SBV and MoF. The Ministry of Public Security (Bộ Công an, MPS) handles cybercrime, anti-money-laundering enforcement, and cryptoasset-related criminal matters. The Anti-Money Laundering Agency under SBV handles AML supervision under the Law on Anti-Money Laundering 2022. The Ministry of Justice (Bộ Tư pháp) handles legal-framework drafting. The 63 provincial-level governments have parallel jurisdiction over certain commercial matters but central-government authority predominates in financial services. The constitutional framework under the 2013 Constitution of Vietnam provides for unified central-government authority. Vietnam's regulatory philosophy is characterised by Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Politburo-level strategic direction, deliberate institutional development, strong central-bank authority, and cautious approach to novel financial technology integration alongside increasing recognition of the need for comprehensive cryptoasset framework given high domestic adoption.
Crypto-specific framework
Vietnam's Law on Digital Technology Industry (in force 1 January 2026) recognises digital assets as property, and Resolution 05/2025 pilots licensed exchanges under the Ministry of Finance. The principal binding cryptoasset rules are the State Bank of Vietnam Decision 1255/QD-NHNN (2017) and SBV Directive 02/CT-NHNN (2018), which prohibit cryptoassets as means of payment in Vietnam — explicitly prohibiting financial institutions from facilitating cryptoasset payment services and prohibiting use of cryptoassets in commercial transactions. These rules do not prohibit cryptoasset ownership, holding, or peer-to-peer trading by individuals, creating a distinctive 'permitted to hold but not as payment' status. The Law on Anti-Money Laundering 2022, effective March 2023, includes Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) provisions establishing a broader framework for cryptoasset AML supervision but without specific licensing pathway. Decree 13/2023 on personal data protection, effective July 2023, applies to cryptoasset operators handling Vietnamese personal data but is not cryptoasset-specific. The 2024-2025 MIC/SBV/MoF joint working group established under Prime Ministerial direction has been preparing the prospective comprehensive cryptoasset/digital-asset law expected for 2026-2027 introduction; the National Assembly may consider draft legislation in the 2026 spring or autumn session. The Politburo's Resolution 50-NQ/TW (2019) and subsequent strategic directives have signalled long-term Vietnamese cryptoasset/digital-asset policy direction including support for blockchain technology innovation alongside cautious financial-system integration. There is no Vietnamese stablecoin issuance pathway. There is no Vietnamese cryptoasset exchange or broker authorisation pathway. There is no Vietnamese DeFi-specific framework. Cross-border cryptoasset operations by foreign exchanges and platforms serving Vietnamese residents operate in legal grey area without specific authorisation requirements.
Recent enforcement actions
Vietnamese cryptoasset enforcement is characterised by selective Ministry of Public Security criminal action against fraudulent cryptoasset platforms, SBV foreign-exchange enforcement against unauthorised cryptoasset payment processors, and increasing AML enforcement under the 2022 framework. The Modern Tech BTC fraud case (2018-2020) — one of Vietnam's largest cryptoasset fraud incidents involving an estimated USD 660M+ in cryptoasset Ponzi-scheme losses across approximately 32,000 Vietnamese investors — produced criminal proceedings through 2020-2024 with multiple defendants convicted by Ho Chi Minh City courts. The 2023-2024 Ministry of Public Security cryptoasset cybercrime enforcement has focused on phishing, social-engineering fraud, and unauthorised cross-border cryptoasset payment processing. The 2024 SBV foreign-exchange enforcement against several payment processors facilitating cross-border USDT transactions produced administrative fines. The 2025 enforcement statistics record approximately 22 cryptoasset-related criminal proceedings (mostly fraud-related) and 8 administrative supervisory measures. Cross-border cooperation with US Treasury OFAC, FinCEN and DEA on cryptoasset-related drug-trafficking and money-laundering matters has been substantive but limited by absence of comprehensive bilateral cryptoasset cooperation framework. The 2024 Vietnamese cryptoasset OTC-trading enforcement against several Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City-based informal cryptoasset exchanges produced criminal proceedings. The 2025 Sky Mavis/Axie Infinity Ronin bridge USD 625M hack (March 2022) follow-up cooperation with US Department of Justice on North Korean Lazarus Group attribution has been ongoing. The Vietnamese Anti-Money Laundering Agency under SBV expanded supervisory engagement with cryptoasset-related entities through 2024-2026 under the 2022 Law on Anti-Money Laundering framework.
Tax treatment
Vietnamese cryptoasset taxation operates within an unsettled legal framework reflecting the absence of comprehensive cryptoasset legislation. The Personal Income Tax Law and Corporate Income Tax Law apply standard rules to taxable income but cryptoasset-specific characterisation remains unclear. The General Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance has provided limited interpretive guidance on cryptoasset taxation through 2018-2025. Individual cryptoasset gains are theoretically subject to progressive personal income tax rates up to 35% based on annual income brackets but enforcement has been limited reflecting the legal framework ambiguity. Cryptoasset-related business activity (mining, professional trading, exchange operations) is theoretically subject to corporate income tax (20%) but practical compliance has been limited. VAT (Value Added Tax) treatment of cryptoasset transactions remains unsettled. Mining and staking revenue characterisation remains unsettled. Cryptoasset-as-payment transactions are prohibited under SBV rules so do not present standard tax-treatment questions. The 2024-2026 prospective comprehensive cryptoasset framework legislation is expected to clarify cryptoasset taxation including specific income-tax treatment, VAT exemption (likely following EU Hedqvist precedent), and reporting requirements. The Vietnamese FATF mutual evaluation in 2025-2026 has produced recommendations on cryptoasset taxation framework development. Cross-border cryptoasset transactions face standard Vietnamese tax-residence and source-of-income analysis but practical enforcement is limited. The 2026 Vietnamese tax reform discussions include cryptoasset framework provisions. The combination of high cryptoasset adoption, ambiguous tax treatment, and limited practical enforcement produces a distinctive grey-area cryptoasset tax environment that the prospective 2026-2027 comprehensive framework will materially clarify.
Banking and on-ramp infrastructure
Vietnamese banking access for cryptoasset firms operates under the constraints of SBV Decision 1255 and Directive 02 effective ban on cryptoasset banking integration. Tier-one Vietnamese commercial banks — Vietcombank, BIDV, VietinBank, Agribank, Techcombank, MB Bank, ACB, Sacombank, VPBank, TPBank — generally do not provide direct cryptoasset operations or aggressive crypto-firm onboarding given SBV restrictions. Foreign banks operating in Vietnam (HSBC Vietnam, Standard Chartered Vietnam, ANZ Vietnam, Citibank Vietnam, Shinhan Bank Vietnam, etc.) follow similar caution. The major Vietnamese cryptoasset platforms — including Coin98, Kyber Network (decentralised, no banking dependency), Sky Mavis (Ronin, gaming-focused), Onus, and several offshore-domiciled platforms (Binance, KuCoin, OKX) serving Vietnamese residents — operate primarily through cross-border banking arrangements, OTC peer-to-peer payment networks, and informal payment processors. Specialist cross-border payment processors leveraging USDT have emerged as the dominant cryptoasset-fiat conversion channel in Vietnam. The Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi informal cryptoasset OTC markets provide retail liquidity. Stablecoin operations are dominated by USDT (the dominant cryptoasset in Vietnam used as USD-substitute and for cross-border transfers); USDC has lower adoption. Vietnamese đồng (VND) stablecoins have not been launched at scale. The State Bank of Vietnam digital đồng (CBDC) research has been advancing through 2023-2026 with potential pilot programmes in 2026-2027; the digital đồng would be retail-CBDC-oriented. Card programmes operate through Visa Vietnam, Mastercard Vietnam, JCB and the domestic NAPAS card scheme but cryptoasset-card programmes are unauthorised. Identity verification operates through citizen identity card (Căn cước công dân) and the rolling out VNeID (national digital identity) infrastructure. The combination of effective SBV banking restriction, vibrant informal cryptoasset OTC market, dominant USDT stablecoin operations, and prospective comprehensive framework reform produces a distinctive Vietnamese cryptoasset banking environment.
Court-tested precedents
Vietnamese cryptoasset jurisprudence is limited reflecting the underdeveloped regulatory framework and judicial caseload prioritisation. The Supreme People's Court of Vietnam (Tòa án nhân dân tối cao) has not directly ruled on cryptoasset characterisation but has accepted limited cryptoasset-related criminal and commercial proceedings on appeal. The Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi People's Courts have produced cryptoasset criminal proceedings on fraud, Ponzi schemes, and unauthorised payment-processing matters through 2018-2025. The 2018-2024 Modern Tech BTC fraud case proceedings produced substantial criminal procedural rulings. The 2020 Ho Chi Minh City People's Court ruling on cryptoasset matrimonial property characterisation followed standard property approaches. The Supreme People's Procuracy (Viện kiểm sát nhân dân tối cao) coordination on cryptoasset criminal matters with SBV, MIC and MPS has produced procedural cooperation precedent. The 2023-2024 cybercrime enforcement against cross-border cryptoasset payment-processing rings has produced criminal procedural rulings. The 2025 Vietnamese FATF mutual evaluation findings on cryptoasset judicial-enforcement capacity have produced recommendations for enhanced judicial training. Cross-border MLA cooperation rulings with US, Singaporean and Korean prosecutors on cryptoasset criminal matters have been substantive but limited. The Sky Mavis Ronin bridge hack follow-up cooperation has produced limited public proceedings. Vietnamese cryptoasset administrative-court jurisprudence on SBV and MIC supervisory measures has been limited. The 2026-2027 prospective comprehensive cryptoasset framework will materially expand the Vietnamese cryptoasset jurisprudence base by creating clear regulatory perimeter for judicial application. The current Vietnamese cryptoasset jurisprudence base is materially less developed than larger APAC jurisdictions including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.
Regulatory roadmap
The 2026-2028 Vietnamese cryptoasset regulatory roadmap is shaped by prospective comprehensive cryptoasset/digital-asset law introduction, ongoing MIC/SBV/MoF joint working group output, and broader Vietnamese economic and political evolution. The principal expected deliverable is the comprehensive Vietnamese digital-asset law expected for 2026-2027 introduction; the National Assembly may consider draft legislation in the 2026 spring or autumn session. The draft framework is expected to address cryptoasset exchange/broker licensing pathway, stablecoin issuance regime, retail consumer protection, AML/CFT integration with the 2022 framework, taxation clarification, and foreign-platform passporting/registration. The State Bank of Vietnam Decision 1255/Directive 02 reform discussions through 2026 may relax the cryptoasset-as-means-of-payment prohibition for limited use cases or maintain the prohibition pending broader framework. The State Bank of Vietnam digital đồng CBDC research through 2025-2027 may produce retail pilot programmes; broader retail issuance unlikely before 2028. The 2024-2026 Politburo strategic direction on cryptoasset framework development continues to evolve. The 2025-2026 Vietnamese FATF mutual evaluation outcomes have produced recommendations on cryptoasset framework development. Vietnamese ASEAN coordination on cryptoasset frameworks alongside Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia continues through 2026-2027. The Communist Party of Vietnam 14th National Congress (2026) policy directions on financial-technology and digital-economy development may produce specific cryptoasset policy guidance. Cross-border cooperation with US, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Chinese authorities on cryptoasset matters continues to expand under bilateral frameworks. The MIC blockchain technology innovation support programmes continue alongside cautious financial-system integration.
Practical implications for operators
Operating a cryptoasset business serving Vietnamese residents currently requires navigating an ambiguous regulatory environment with no specific cryptoasset exchange or broker licensing pathway. Major Vietnamese cryptoasset platforms have historically operated through one of three approaches: (1) Decentralised technology (Kyber Network, Coin98 Wallet) that does not require licensing; (2) Gaming or NFT-focused operations (Sky Mavis/Axie Infinity, Onus) under broader internet-content authorisation under MIC oversight; (3) Offshore-domiciled platforms (Binance, KuCoin, OKX, Gate.io) serving Vietnamese residents through informal cross-border arrangements without specific Vietnamese authorisation. The prospective 2026-2027 comprehensive cryptoasset framework will materially restructure this landscape. Operators planning long-term Vietnamese market presence should prepare for likely 2027-2028 implementation of cryptoasset exchange/broker licensing requirements, AML/KYC standards, foreign-platform registration provisions, and taxation framework. The Vietnamese market is approximately 100 million population with high cryptoasset adoption (estimated 17%+ of adult population), USD 60B+ inbound remittance flows from overseas Vietnamese workers, and vibrant DeFi/gaming developer ecosystem. The Sky Mavis/Axie Infinity, Kyber Network, Coin98, Ronin Network and broader Vietnamese DeFi/gaming developer ecosystem demonstrates substantial Vietnamese cryptoasset entrepreneurial talent. The strategic logic for Vietnamese crypto operators combines deep retail adoption, low operating costs, strong DeFi/gaming developer talent base, ASEAN expansion platform potential, and prospective 2026-2027 comprehensive framework clarification. The near-term operational reality is that ambiguous regulatory environment continues, decentralised and offshore approaches remain dominant, and substantive 2026-2027 framework reform will materially restructure the landscape. Vietnamese operators should monitor National Assembly proceedings closely through 2026-2027.
Notable licensees
- Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity, Ronin Network)
- Kyber Network
- Coin98
- Onus
- Binance Vietnam (offshore-served)
- KuCoin Vietnam (offshore-served)
Top regulators
- State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)
- Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)
- Ministry of Finance (MoF)
- State Securities Commission (SSC)
- Ministry of Public Security (MPS)
- Anti-Money Laundering Agency (under SBV)
Watch points
- Comprehensive Vietnamese digital-asset law expected 2026-2027 introduction
- SBV Decision 1255/Directive 02 reform potential 2026
- State Bank of Vietnam digital đồng CBDC pilot programmes 2026-2027
- Vietnamese FATF mutual evaluation recommendations implementation 2026-2027
- CPV 14th National Congress 2026 cryptoasset policy direction
TL;DR
Top-5 global cryptoasset adoption (Chainalysis) without comprehensive regulatory framework — SBV cryptoasset-as-means-of-payment prohibition since 2018, vibrant Sky Mavis/Kyber/Coin98 developer ecosystem, comprehensive digital-asset law expected 2026-2027.
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