Overview

• Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi confirmed a maximum of five licenses for the five-year pilot and said the ministry has not received any formal applications.
• The government hopes to approve at least one operator before 2026, with timing contingent on business readiness rather than political delays.
• Pilot rules require VND-only trading, restrict issuance to Vietnamese companies, and prohibit tokens backed by securities or fiat currencies.
• Applicants must hold at least 10 trillion dong (about $379 million) in capital, with foreign participation funneled through licensed domestic providers.
• Officials are drafting tax, accounting, fee, and AML rules with the State Bank and Public Security as they seek to shift activity onshore from an estimated 17 million traders and over $100 billion in annual volumes.