🇻🇳 Vietnam’s Crypto Policy: Moving From Grey Zone to Sandbox

1. 🏛️ No Legal Tender—but Trading Allowed

Vietnam outright bans crypto as a means of payment, with users facing fines if used for transactions. However, trading and holding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remain legal and popular reddit.comen.wikipedia.org+1reddit.com+1.

2. Massive Adoption

Roughly 17 million Vietnamese now own crypto, with total holdings exceeding $100 billion dtinews.dantri.com.vn.

Vietnam ranks among the top 5–7 countries globally in crypto adoption, with high P2P and exchange activity .

3. Regulatory Push & Regulatory Grey to Sandbox

In late 2024, Vietnam launched its National Blockchain Strategy 2024–2030 (Decision 1236/QĐ‑TTg), endorsing blockchain innovation and formal recognition of digital assets dtinews.dantri.com.vn+15lianpr.com+15reports.tiger-research.com+15.

By early 2025, Prime Minister directives (05/CT‑TTg and Official Telegram No. 22) set the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in motion to draft a legal framework and roll out a financial‑centre sandbox vietnamnet.vn+5tilleke.com+5en.vneconomy.vn+5.

That includes a pilot crypto exchange, overseen by the MOF and SBV, using strict measures (AML/KYC, security, environmental monitoring) in HCMC and Da Nang to test digital‑asset models through 2027 .

4. Toward a Full Legal Framework

A Draft Digital Technology Industry Law and Draft Crypto‑Pilot Resolution are currently going through National Assembly review, expected in mid‑2025 blog.upay.best+15tilleke.com+15en.vneconomy.vn+15.

Key elements under consideration:

Formal definitions of “crypto assets,” service providers, and stablecoins;

Licensing, transaction oversight, capital gains/personal income taxation (possibly 0.1% per trade), corporate income tax, plus licensing fees en.vneconomy.vnlianpr.com+9tilleke.com+9reddit.com+9rmit.edu.vn;

Strengthened AML/CTF compliance modeled off FATF grey‑list recommendations .

5. Risks & Challenges

Regulatory gaps make users vulnerable to fraud, money‑laundering, and scams—especially in P2P trading vietnamnews.vn.

Taxation could drive capital flight if rates are too steep, echoing cautionary experiences from India rmit.edu.vn.

Effective enforcement will require blockchain analytics, international cooperation, and resilient KYC/AML systems .