Effective September 9, the Government’s Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP, the first-ever legal framework for the tokenized asset market, has initiated a five-year pilot period. The immediate impact was stark. A wave of blockchain enterprises announced a halt to their services for Vietnamese investors.
Coin98 Wallet, part of Vietnamese-founded startup Ninety Eight, ceased serving Vietnamese citizens and residents in this country yet still preserve users’ assets. The Aliniex exchange suspended all trading pairs involving the Vietnamese Dong (VND). Several blockchain communities, including Viction Vietnam, shut down their Vietnamese channels. Investors also reported being unable to access the decentralized exchange KyberSwap.
This exodus is a direct response to the stringent conditions laid out in the new resolution. Economic experts note that the rules are tight: a minimum charter capital of VND10 trillion (US$393 million), with at least 65 percent of that capital coming from institutions and 35 percent from established financial entities like banks or securities firms.
Domestic firms can issue tokenized assets, but only if they are backed by real assets (excluding securities and fiat currency), and all transactions must be conducted in VND. Crucially, during the pilot, tokenized assets may only be offered to and traded among foreign investors via platforms licensed by the Ministry of Finance.
Deputy Head To Tran Hoa of the Market Development Department (State Securities Commission – SSC) framed the move as a critical step toward meeting international standards. He noted that Vietnam is currently on the “gray list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and establishing a clear legal framework for digital assets is essential to being removed, which would in turn unlock significant foreign capital inflows.
Chairman Phan Duc Trung of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Asset Association (VBA) added that the resolution helps formalize and control a market segment that has largely operated in the shadows. “When the law recognizes fundraising on a public exchange”, he said, “investors will have a transparent and safer option, instead of relying on closed groups making illusory promises of high returns.”
The new rules have left many domestic retail investors anxious. Will they only be allowed to sell their existing holdings, but not buy? Will mandatory trading in VND cripple the liquidity previously provided by stablecoins like USDT, which is the globally popular digital currency? Is the new “playing field” reserved exclusively for foreign players?
VBA Chairman Phan Duc Trung offered some clarity. The Government’s primary goals during this pilot phase, he explained, are to attract foreign capital, control monetary flow, and protect the domestic financial system. “This doesn’t mean Vietnamese investors are out of the game”, he assured. “Those with existing international accounts can transfer their assets to licensed domestic institutions to continue trading listed tokens.”
The pilot is intentionally not open to new domestic investors, targeting instead experienced traders already active on foreign exchanges. While this helps ensure foreign exchange stability, it may reduce the market’s appeal to international investors who seek direct engagement with a local investor base. “After the pilot, the Government will likely expand access”, Chairman Trung predicted. “The VBA expects this cautious approach will shorten our market’s maturity cycle from the typical ten years down to just two or three.”
For the policy to be effectively implemented, Dr Pham Nguyen Anh Huy (RMIT University Vietnam) believes that a pilot legal framework is necessary to attract high-quality capital flows and limit risks. But to compete internationally, domestic exchanges must diversify products and upgrade service standards, not just rely on legal advantages.
In parallel, the Ministry of Finance has proposed an amendment to the Law on Personal Income Tax that would apply a 0.1-percent tax on the value of each digital asset transaction, mirroring the current tax on securities trades. With Vietnam’s annual digital asset trading volume estimated at $120 billion, this could generate over $800 million in annual tax revenue.
Experts agree that while taxation is a fiscally important step, it must be handled with care. Nguyen Quang Huy, a lecturer from Nguyen Trai University believes the 0.1-percent rate is reasonable and consistent with how other investment assets are treated.
However, both he and Assoc Prof Nguyen Huu Huan of HCMC University of Economics warn that an overly burdensome tax regime could backfire. Given the anonymous and global nature of digital assets, a high tax rate or complex procedures could simply push investors back to unregulated international exchanges, resulting in a loss of potential tax revenue and regulatory oversight. The key, they argue, is to create a system that is attractive enough to bring the majority of trading activity onto managed, domestic platforms.
