Officials say the snag stems from strict eligibility rules and high capital thresholds that many prospective entrants aren’t ready to meet.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi told reporters that several firms are preparing paperwork and adding new business lines to qualify, but only five operators will be allowed into the initial cohort. The ministry wants the program running before 2026, yet licensing now hinges more on applicants meeting technical and financial tests than on political will.
The pilot is ambitious. Launched in September 2025, it requires all token trading to happen in Vietnamese dong, limits issuers to local companies, and bans fiat- or securities-backed coins – insisting instead on tokens backed by tangible, onshore assets. Crypto service providers must also meet a hefty minimum capital requirement (10 trillion dong, roughly $379 million), and foreign participation is strictly routed through licensed domestic intermediaries.
Vietnamese regulators are trying to move billions of annual crypto flows from offshore platforms into a taxable, monitored market. Roughly 17 million Vietnamese already trade crypto, and annual volumes exceed $100 billion, most activity routed through exchanges based in Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong. That scale is why policymakers want tight controls – but the same safeguards appear to be deterring early volunteers.
For now the pilot is more promise than practice. The next steps are procedural: speed up vetting, help a handful of companies meet the rules, and issue the first licenses. Observers expect interest will pick up once the first operators clear the bar, but the case highlights a common policy tension – how to balance rapid innovation with consumer protection and financial stability.
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