Headline: Vietnam rushes to build domestic crypto exchanges as Hanoi moves to curb offshore trading
Vietnamese firms are scrambling to secure licences for the country’s first homegrown cryptocurrency exchanges as Hanoi prepares to tighten restrictions on trading via foreign platforms, Reuters reports.
A government resolution issued in February calls for a pilot program for locally run digital-asset exchanges, with a rollout possible as soon as March. A Finance Ministry document dated March 12 shows five companies passed an initial screening round — affiliates of three private banks (Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank), plus VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group.
The push could fundamentally reshape a market that has expanded rapidly with limited formal oversight. Vietnam ranked fourth in Chainalysis’ latest Global Crypto Adoption Index; Chainalysis estimates Vietnamese users moved roughly $200 billion in crypto in the year through June 2025.
Hanoi’s move is driven by concerns that widespread crypto and stablecoin use may weaken control over capital flows. The government already restricts cross-border transfers, and many households have few saving alternatives beyond gold and property — dynamics that have pushed local gold prices above global levels and stoked waves of housing speculation, the report notes.
Regulatory groundwork is already in place: early last year Vietnam passed a landmark law officially recognizing digital and crypto assets and outlining a broad framework to manage them while fostering innovation.
What to watch: whether the pilot expands into a national rollout, how licensing and KYC/AML rules are enforced, and whether channeling activity through domestic exchanges will reduce offshore trading, improve oversight and change liquidity and stablecoin dynamics in Vietnam’s fast-growing crypto market.
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