Piloting Vietnam's crypto asset market: "Leverage" for economic breakthrough growth

On October 2, within the framework of the National Innovation Day, the Forum "Digital Asset Market: From Trend to Breakthrough" was jointly organized by the Ministry of Finance , the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State Securities Commission and the Vietnam Blockchain & Digital Asset Association (VBA).

Data from Chainalysis shows that on-chain transaction value in the Asia -Pacific region has increased from $81 billion monthly in July 2022 to $244 billion by the end of 2024, tripling in just 30 months, making the region the fastest growing market in the world.

Of which, Vietnam currently ranks third in the region with TSMH capital inflows into the market exceeding 220 billion USD, up 55% compared to the previous year, clearly reflecting the great demand for money transfer, savings and applications in digital services.

In his opening speech, Mr. Vu Quoc Huy, Director of the National Innovation Center, emphasized that the global digital economic context is witnessing a strong shift, in which crypto-assets (TSMH) are emerging with an unprecedented growth rate.

Mr. Vu Quoc Huy, Director of the National Innovation Center, delivered the opening speech at the Forum.

However, most activities still take place on international exchanges, causing tax losses and affecting anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) and high-tech crime prevention, requiring the building of a transparent, controlled domestic market and protection of the interests of stakeholders.

"Filter" removes potentially risky models

Sharing about the global TSMH picture, Mr. Phan Duc Trung, Chairman of VBA affirmed that RWA has become an inevitable and irreversible trend.

“We are in the era of tokenization. This is a breakthrough in financial innovation, comparable to the birth of mutual funds in the 1970s and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the 1990s. However, with appropriate legal frameworks, the impact of RWAs will become much more widespread because it allows any type of asset to be digitized and traded on the blockchain,” said Mr. Phan Duc Trung.

Tokenization of real world assets (RWA) is becoming an irreversible trend with a scale of up to 19,000 billion USD by 2033, equivalent to more than 10% of global GDP, according to BCG report.

In Vietnam, Mr. To Tran Hoa, Deputy Head of the Securities Market Development Department, State Securities Commission, emphasized that Resolution 05 is an important legal foundation for the formation of the domestic TSMH market.

"Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP on piloting the TSMH market issued by the Government on September 9, 2025 is an important foundation for the formation of the domestic TSMH market. The Resolution clearly stipulates the issuance conditions, requires the issuing enterprise to be a legal entity in Vietnam and based on real assets; at the same time, establishes strict standards for organizations providing crypto assets services (VASPs)", Mr. Hoa said.

Mr. To Tran Hoa, Deputy Head of the Securities Market Development Department, State Securities Commission, said that the Resolution on piloting the crypto asset market is the foundation for forming this market in Vietnam.

Accordingly, VASPs must have a minimum charter capital of VND10,000 billion, foreign investors' ownership ratio must not exceed 49%, and technology infrastructure must meet level 4 safety standards on a 5-level scale. In addition to providing trading and custody services, businesses must disclose transparent information, separate customer assets, and have a dispute resolution and compensation mechanism in case of incidents.

Thus, this pilot mechanism not only paves the way for innovation, but also acts as a “filter”, eliminating potentially risky models. Thanks to that, the market can operate transparently, creating trust for domestic and foreign investors, and at the same time helping Vietnam integrate with international standards in TSMH management.

At the same time, major economies are taking decisive action: the US enacted the Genius Act on stablecoins, the European Union implemented MiCA, while more than 90% of global central banks have researched or piloted CBDCs. These moves show that RWA is no longer an emerging concept, but is becoming a standard that is reshaping the structure of international financial markets. However, experts also warn that Digital Assets also pose new risks, so regulatory guidance and public-private cooperation are needed to achieve common development goals.

Double-digit economic growth momentum

At the Forum, experts and managers discussed frankly and directly the challenges of piloting the crypto-asset market and the opportunities for crypto-assets to become a driving force for double-digit economic growth according to Resolution 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo.

According to Professor, Dr. Phan Trung Ly, former Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee, current legal regulations are only at the principle level, and it is necessary to soon issue specialized management institutions to turn crypto assets from potential into a "double-digit" growth driver.

Regulators need to specify the legal framework for digital assets and blockchain, clarifying definitions related to digital assets, ownership, dispute resolution, tax obligations, consumer protection and cybersecurity standards. “Policies must be both protective and flexible to facilitate innovation,” Mr. Ly emphasized.

At the same time, according to Mr. Ly, the development of the crypto asset market needs to ensure security, human rights and data, and develop digital products in line with the law on personal data, network security, and anti-money laundering - requirements consistent with the spirit of perfecting the rule of law state (Resolution 27-NQ/TW). In particular, improving governance capacity and digital human resources to take advantage of blockchain and digital platforms, the State needs to invest in training, innovate administrative mechanisms (digitalization processes), and at the same time create a fair playing field for the private sector in the spirit of Resolution 68-NQ/TW.

Taking Vietnam out of the FATF "gray zone"

Currently, Vietnam is on the "Gray List" of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) from June 2023 and is actively implementing actions according to recommendations from this organization.

Specifically, in the National Risk Assessment Report on Money Laundering (Resolution No. 71/NQ-CP), Vietnam has selected to assess 4 contents related to virtual assets, including: (i) Wallet service providers, virtual asset management; (ii) Virtual asset investment funds; (iii) Stable crypto assets; (iv) Virtual assets in the form of securities, utility virtual assets, platform virtual assets. As a result, the risks for these 4 contents are all ranked at Medium High/High.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tho, Deputy Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Department, State Bank, emphasized the prevention of money laundering when implementing the crypto-asset market.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tho, Deputy Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Department, State Bank, this is also the reason why the Law on Digital Technology Industry stipulates the implementation of regulations on anti-terrorist financing AML/CFT and Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP strictly regulates anti-terrorist financing AML/CFT of VASPs.

"In addition to having to fulfill the requirements of a financial institution in this work, organizations providing crypto-asset services must also fulfill a number of specific requirements such as building a customer identification process, monitoring transactions worth from 1,000 USD, retaining data for at least 10 years and reporting unusual transactions," Ms. Tho noted.

From the perspective of crime prevention in the field of crypto assets, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Chung, Deputy Head of Department 4, Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (A05), Ministry of Public Security, said that Resolution 05 and the Law on Digital Technology Industry will be an important basis to help increase the effectiveness of technology crime prevention.

Source: https://vtv.vn/thi-diem-thi-truong-tai-san-ma-hoa-viet-nam-don-bay-cho-kinh-te-tang-truong-but-pha-100251002183013815.htm