Vietnam’s new crypto rules to take effect on September 1 – Criticisms arise

No matter the exploits, no matter the scams, the crypto adoption scale is not slowing down. According to the VietnamPlus recent report, Vietnam is moving toward creating a regulated crypto market.

However, the country is not going fully into it but rather taking a cautious stance.

Here, the core idea is to bring crypto activity into a legal framework rather than allowing an entirely volatile market to develop outside government oversight.

That said, the government’s Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP, issued on the 9th of September, 2025, established a pilot framework for the same.

That framework was like a roadmap that gave businesses a legal pathway into digital assets while allowing regulators greater control. Now the focus of the new framework is real-world assets (RWAs), with crypto assets required to be backed by tangible assets.

The challenge is finding the correct balance

One major issue is that Vietnam does not yet have a licensed crypto-asset exchange. This is important because even if the government has established the legal framework, investors still need regulated platforms through which they can buy, sell, and trade eligible crypto assets.

At the Vietnam RWA Summit 2026, officials said that five companies had passed the first assessment for developing crypto-asset exchanges. These companies are not automatically licensed yet.

They still need to satisfy additional requirements, including Level 4 information-system security standards and a minimum capital contribution of VND 10 trillion, equivalent to roughly $383 million.

These requirements show how seriously Vietnam is approaching the security and financial stability of the future market.

What to expect?

That said, back in July 2026, Vietnam issued Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP, establishing penalties for violations involving crypto assets and the crypto market. One provision that attracted attention concerns expected fines of VND 30–50 million for domestic investors who trade through unlicensed platforms.

At first glance, this could suggest that domestic crypto investors would immediately face fines once the decree takes effect on the 1st of September.

However, Dr. Tran Quy says that this interpretation is incorrect, as 1st September does not mean domestic crypto investors will automatically start receiving fines.

Herein, resolution 05 comes into play as it establishes a transition period. Domestic investors will only be required to use licensed crypto providers six months after the first provider receives a license, so 1st September is not an immediate deadline.

The transition period is designed to gradually shift investors from informal platforms to regulated exchanges.

Thus, for now, Vietnam remains in the early stages of building and testing its digital-asset infrastructure rather than operating a fully mature crypto market.

Final Summary

• Vietnam moves toward creating a regulated crypto-asset market but with caution.
• However, domestic investors could face some turbulence.