Vietnam Builds a Framework for Crypto-Asset Oversight
Vietnam is strengthening its regulatory approach to crypto assets as it moves forward with a pilot market framework and prepares for the operation of licensed digital-asset service providers.
The development was highlighted during a meeting in Vienna on September 15 between Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi and Mariana Kühnel, Executive Director of the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). The discussions focused on financial supervision and the exchange of regulatory experience as Vietnam works to adapt its financial-market rules to new asset classes and technologies.
Vietnam has already established a formal legal foundation for its crypto-asset market. The country’s Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP, issued on September 9, 2025, created a five-year pilot framework covering crypto-asset issuance, trading-market organization, service providers and government supervision.
The Vietnam Ministry of Finance’s crypto-asset market procedures show that authorities have already established administrative procedures for licensing, modifying and withdrawing licenses for organizations providing crypto-asset market services.
First Crypto Service Providers Expected Under the Pilot
The pilot framework is intended to bring crypto-asset trading and related services into a controlled regulatory environment rather than leaving the sector outside formal market supervision.
According to the supplied report, Vietnam expects its first licensed crypto-asset service providers to begin operating in 2026. The Ministry of Finance said in May that the crypto-asset market could begin operating in Q3 2026, while a separate ministry update said five companies had received approval to provide market-organization services in preparation for the first official activities.
The framework establishes significant requirements for organizations seeking authorization. Vietnam's Ministry of Finance says applicants must be Vietnamese companies with minimum contributed charter capital of 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, while foreign ownership cannot exceed 49%. Applicants must also meet requirements covering shareholders, infrastructure, personnel and information-technology systems.
The government’s Resolution 05 also provides that domestic and foreign investors can open accounts with licensed crypto-asset service providers for custody and trading within the pilot framework.
Investor Protection and Anti-Money Laundering Are Key Priorities
Vietnam’s regulatory authorities are focusing on several areas that are central to the development of a supervised crypto market, including risk management, investor-asset protection and anti-money laundering controls.
State Securities Commission Chairwoman Vu Thi Chan Phuong said, according to the supplied report, that Vietnam is using recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and regulatory approaches from European Union agencies while developing its supervisory mechanisms.
The goal is to establish rules for both service providers and investor transactions. Vietnam’s broader regulatory framework has also been expanded through additional measures covering accounting and taxation. For example, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 15/2026/TT-BTC covering accounting principles for organizations participating in the pilot crypto-asset market.
Vietnam has also introduced tax rules specifically covering crypto-asset transactions. The Ministry of Finance said Circular 32/2026/TT-BTC, issued in March, provides guidance on value-added tax, corporate income tax and personal income tax related to crypto-asset activities during the pilot period.
Austria Brings European Supervisory Experience
Austria's financial regulator is also developing experience in supervising crypto-asset markets under the European Union's regulatory framework.
The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) is an independent financial regulator responsible for supervising areas including banks, insurers, investment firms, securities markets and crypto-asset service providers. Its current executive board includes Mariana Kühnel, who has served as an FMA Executive Director since July 2025.
The FMA's 2025 annual report states that 2025 was its first year of crypto-asset market supervision under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The authority said it had established supervisory processes for the sector and began disclosing information about crypto-asset service providers licensed by the FMA.
That experience gives Austria a regulatory perspective that can be relevant to Vietnam as the Southeast Asian country establishes its own licensing and supervisory mechanisms. The two frameworks are not identical, but cooperation allows officials to exchange information about areas such as licensing, market monitoring, risk management and compliance.
Austria's Financial Market Authority provides information on its supervisory responsibilities and leadership, including Kühnel's role in Austria's financial-market oversight.
Vietnam Also Wants to Improve Broader Market Transparency
The discussions between the two countries extend beyond crypto assets. According to the supplied report, Phuong said Vietnam is also considering changes to its stock-market structure, including trading boards focused on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The proposed efforts are aimed at improving transparency, strengthening the quality of listed products and addressing risks such as market manipulation and price rigging. Vietnam's authorities have been working more broadly to strengthen securities-market supervision and improve the legal framework surrounding its capital markets.
SMEs are particularly important to Vietnam's economy. The supplied report says they account for approximately 99% of operating businesses in the country. Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi said policies are being updated to improve governance, compliance and digital transformation for these companies, with the broader objective of improving access to credit and capital markets.
The cooperation therefore covers both emerging digital assets and more established parts of Vietnam's financial system, linking crypto supervision with wider efforts to strengthen market infrastructure.
Regulators Plan More Technical Cooperation
The meeting also produced proposals for continued cooperation between Vietnamese and Austrian financial authorities.
Kühnel proposed holding online technical workshops involving experts from both sides and increasing coordination through the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). The aim is to move beyond high-level discussions and create practical channels for sharing supervisory experience.
Nguyen Duc Chi welcomed the proposal, according to the supplied report, saying that stronger coordination could turn shared technical expertise into concrete joint activities. For Vietnam, such cooperation comes as the country moves from establishing a crypto-asset legal framework toward implementing licensing, supervision and market infrastructure.
Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has already created administrative procedures for crypto-asset service providers, while the pilot framework provides the legal foundation for licensed market operators.
Vietnam Moves Toward a More Formal Crypto Market
Vietnam's cooperation with Austria comes at an important stage in the country's crypto-regulation process. The government has moved from developing general policy toward implementing a formal pilot market with licensing requirements, supervisory mechanisms and rules for market participants.
The five-year pilot framework, established in September 2025, provides the foundation for this transition, while subsequent Ministry of Finance measures have added licensing, accounting and tax procedures.
For Vietnam, the next phase will involve putting those rules into practice as licensed service providers begin operating. Cooperation with regulators such as Austria's FMA could give Vietnamese authorities another channel for comparing supervisory approaches as the country's digital-asset market develops.
