Viet Nam advanced the encryption market regulation pilot, with the first exchanges or launched in 2026

According to The Business Times, Viet Nam is moving forward with the encryption market regulation pilot in response to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) anti-money laundering overhaul pressure. Five businesses have been authorized to move forward, and the first local digital asset exchanges were launched at the earliest or in the third quarter of 2026. Viet Nam has been on the FATF's “ash list” since June 2023 and 10 areas, including virtual asset and service provider regulation, still need to be overhauled. According to the data, in 2024 there were more than 17 million encrypted currency holders in Viet Nam, and the volume of encrypted money transactions in the year to June 2025 was over $200 billion, an increase of 55 per cent over the year. A licensed operator is required to meet the requirement of at least 10 trillion Vietnamese guilders (approximately $381.8 million) to pay in cash。