The concept of digital assets was first legalized in the Law on Digital Technology Industry, effective from January 1, 2026. Specifically, digital assets are assets as prescribed by the Civil Code, expressed in the form of digital data, created, issued, stored, transferred and authenticated by digital technology in the electronic environment.
Classification for management
Emphasizing that Vietnam is one of the countries with a large proportion of people owning digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, National Assembly delegate Hoang Minh Hieu ( Nghe An delegation) said that legalizing digital assets in the Law on Digital Technology Industry is very necessary. This will be an important legal framework for an important field with a lot of potential that Vietnam cannot miss the opportunity to develop.
According to the Law on Digital Technology Industry, virtual assets in the electronic environment are a type of digital asset that can be used for exchange or investment purposes. Also a type of digital asset with similar functions, crypto assets use encryption technology or digital technology to authenticate assets during the process of creation, issuance, storage, and transfer. Digital assets do not include securities, digital forms of legal currency, and other financial assets as prescribed by civil and financial laws.
Cryptocurrency investors will soon be able to trade in a legally recognized market. Photo: LE TINH
"From the above classification, there will be appropriate management measures. In particular, there should be clear regulations on the responsibilities of digital asset service providers to protect the rights of participants, such as issues of transactions, storage, and information security" - Mr. Hieu suggested.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also recently signed a decision approving the list of national strategic technologies and strategic technology products, including 11 technology groups identified as pillars. Notably, blockchain technology is present, including 3 product groups: digital assets, digital currency, cryptocurrencies; blockchain network infrastructure and traceability system.
Ms. Le Ngoc My Tien, General Director of Blockchainwork Joint Stock Company, believes that introducing the concept of digital assets into the law and identifying strategic technology groups is a timely step, creating an important legal foundation to protect investors and promote the development of the digital asset market in Vietnam. With a clear legal corridor, investors will feel more secure when encountering fraud or disputes; businesses also have a clear direction to attract capital and develop products.
"Vietnam can refer to Singapore's management model, which has a friendly policy for blockchain startups, a transparent and flexible registration process, and from there build a management system suitable for domestic characteristics. It is necessary to require exchanges to comply with the KYC process, and at the same time clearly define the legal responsibilities between the exchange and investors," Ms. Tien suggested.
Investor expectations
Positive moves from law-making agencies have created confidence for cryptocurrency investors after a long time of trading in an environment without a legal framework. Mr. Le Trung Nghia - an employee of a technology company in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - said that he once brought all of his money, more than 300 million VND, including loans and savings, to invest in cryptocurrencies. "At first, I was "keyed" to some codes, I won a few orders so I played more and more, but after losing continuously, I realized that it was a "chicken herding" trick. Cryptocurrencies are not yet recognized by law, so if you get cheated, you don't know who to complain to" - Mr. Nghia said and hoped that in the near future, cryptocurrencies will become a new safe investment channel for people.
On social media platforms, many cryptocurrency groups with millions of members have recently shared information related to the legalization of digital assets and hope that new regulations will contribute to market transparency and reduce "chicken herding".
According to records, despite the lack of a clear legal framework, the digital asset trading market, especially popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum..., is still very active, especially when Bitcoin prices fluctuate strongly. According to Coinmarketcap data, at 2:00 p.m. on June 17 (Vietnam time), Bitcoin was trading at over $107,000/BTC, up more than 1% in 24 hours and nearly 15% compared to the beginning of 2025.
Statistics from the cryptocurrency payment gateway Triple-A released in mid-2024 show that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranks first in the world in terms of the rate of cryptocurrency ownership by its people, with 34.4%. Vietnam ranks second with 21.2%, higher than the US - ranked third with 15.6%. According to a report compiled by Chainalysis (USA), in 2023-2024, Vietnam will be the country with the most people using cryptocurrency assets, with more than 20 million investors and a huge capital of 120 billion USD - ranked fourth.
Lawyer Dao Tien Phong, CEO of Investpush Law Firm, said that for the cryptocurrency market to develop sustainably, there needs to be a flexible and synchronous legal system, avoiding excessive tightening to prevent innovation resources from leaving the domestic market. "The management agency can consider establishing a digital asset technology park, which accepts a certain level of risk to support startups in researching and testing new models. This is a balanced approach between control and encouraging innovation," Mr. Phong suggested.
According to experts, once there is a clear legal framework, it is necessary to promptly issue accompanying policies such as licensing procedures, tax obligations, capital raising procedures... so that businesses can boldly participate in the market, creating investment opportunities for people as well as contributing to the state budget.
Piloting cryptocurrency exchange in Vietnam
In early March 2025, the Ministry of Finance submitted to the Government a draft Resolution on piloting the issuance and trading of digital assets and digital currencies.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the pilot implementation of the digital asset and digital currency market is suitable for practical conditions in Vietnam, creating a flexible legal environment, quickly adapting to innovation within the framework of state management and supervision. However, the specific time for the pilot implementation has not been announced.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/cong-nhan-tien-so-de-bao-ve-nha-dau-tu-196250617210011625.htm
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