Vietnam don open licence window for digital-asset exchanges under strict rules
Vietnam State Securities Commission (SSC) open di application window on 20 January 2026 for operational licences for digital-asset trading platforms, formally start one five-year pilot wey begin for September 2025. Dis move follow Di Digital Technology Industry Law (wey start 1 Jan 2026) and administrative procedures under Resolution/Decision No.96. Di pilot set strict entry requirements: applicants must be Vietnamese legal entities, get minimum paid-in capital of VND 100 trillion (≈ USD 380 million), make sure domestic/institutional shareholders control at least 65% of voting shares, and cap foreign ownership at 49%. Di framework no allow issuing assets backed by fiat or securities and e no give digital assets legal-tender status. Regulators don talk before say no application come because threshold high; since then some major banks and securities firms (including SSI Digital/SSI Securities, VIXEX/VIX Securities, Military Bank, Techcombank and VPBank) don signal say dem wan apply. As di licence window open, authorities never confirm any received or approved applications. Traders suppose note di application start date, di elevated capital and ownership thresholds, di likely dominance of big domestic financial institutions for any licensed market, and di chance say rollout go slow and tightly controlled — things we fit limit liquidity and exchange competition short-term.
Neutral
Di announcement fit likely neutral for crypto price movement. E create clear regulatory road wey reduce legal wahala — na positive structural development — but di very high capital and ownership thresholds, strict rules (no fiat- or securities-backed tokens) and di way licenses likely go concentrate for big domestic banks and brokers mean say immediate market access go limited, short-term liquidity go low and competition go weak. For short term this one reduce chance of sharp bullish price move because new retail access and exchange competition dey constrained. For medium to long term regulatory clarity fit support if licenses dem issue and platforms slowly expand operations, but di restrictive framework show say market go tight control and dominated by established financial institutions, wey go dampen big speculative inflows. Traders make dem expect slow, measured developments rather than quick market-opening rally or crash.