Nikkei: Vietnam launches a crypto regulatory sandbox in Q2, with CAEX leading the way in filing applications

According to a report by Japan’s Nikkei on April 24, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in a speech to parliament this month that Vietnam may launch a five-year crypto asset pilot program as early as this quarter. The goal is to shift the market, which currently relies mainly on offshore trading, into a framework governed by domestic regulation, with CAEX moving first to lay groundwork for its application. According to Chainalysis’s 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Vietnam ranks fourth globally in crypto adoption rates.

Vietnam Crypto Pilot Program Framework and Application Progress

According to a Nikkei report, the five-year crypto asset pilot program announced by the Vietnamese government last year adopts a regulatory sandbox framework. It allows only locally registered issuing institutions that meet strict conditions to issue tokens. The tokens must be backed by real-world assets (RWA) and settled in Vietnamese đồng (VND), and must meet a minimum capital requirement of 10 trillion VND (about $380 million).

According to a Nikkei report, four Vietnamese entities have completed their application submissions to join the pilot program: VIX Securities Company, Techcom Securities, Sun Group (a conglomerate), and LPBank (a lending institution). The prime minister of Vietnam said the government places high importance on protecting investors’ rights and interests and on preventing money laundering.

CAEX: Details of the OKX and VPBank Joint Venture Application

According to a Nikkei report, CAEX is the joint venture between OKX (one of the largest crypto exchanges globally) and VPBank (one of Vietnam’s largest private banks), with Mitsui Sumitomo Banking Corporation (SMBC) serving as a strategic investor. OKX plans to invest in CAEX this month to help the joint venture meet the minimum capital requirement of 10 trillion VND.

In a statement, CAEX chairman Nguyen Hong Trung said: “We are in the final stages of completing all necessary procedures. OKX is not only an investor but also a strategic cooperation partner, contributing the compliance experience it has accumulated from operating in highly regulated jurisdictions such as Singapore, Dubai, and the United States.”

Analysis of the Regulatory Framework by an RMIT Vietnam University Researcher

In an interview, Le Hong Hanh, a finance lecturer at RMIT Vietnam, said that Vietnam’s regulatory model performs well in terms of legal clarity and transparency. However, compared with regional hubs such as Singapore, Thailand, and Dubai, it still falls short in flexibility and operational efficiency.

Le Hong Hanh said: “Because the number of licensed exchanges is limited, market depth may be insufficient, leading to larger bid-ask spreads and trading costs that are higher than in more mature markets like Thailand or Indonesia.”

Regarding Vietnam’s policy consideration to ban citizens from trading crypto overseas, Le Hong Hanh said: “If implemented too rigidly, it may be like in China—pushing some trading activities into unofficial channels, and slowing down the overall pace of adoption before domestic platforms are ready.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main regulatory conditions of Vietnam’s crypto pilot program?

According to a Nikkei report, Vietnam’s five-year crypto asset pilot program requires that: the issuing institution must be locally registered; tokens must be backed by real-world assets and settled in Vietnamese đồng (VND); and the program must meet a minimum capital requirement of 10 trillion VND (about $380 million).

What is CAEX’s shareholder structure, and what is OKX’s investment timeline?

According to a Nikkei report, CAEX is the joint venture between OKX and VPBank, with SMBC serving as a strategic investor; OKX plans to complete the capital injection into CAEX this month to help it meet the minimum capital requirement of 10 trillion VND.

What is the data source for Chainalysis’s estimate of the size of Vietnam’s crypto market?

According to Chainalysis’s 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Vietnam ranks fourth in global adoption rates; between July 2024 and June 2025, estimated trading volume related to Vietnam-based traders is between $220 billion and $230 billion, with average daily volume exceeding $600 million. This is equivalent to nearly half of Vietnam’s GDP.