A series of banks and securities companies race into the digital asset sector

(Dan Tri) - Vietnam is one of the top countries in the world in terms of digital asset ownership and trading (about 17 million people, with 1,000 billion USD in transactions in 2024), ranked top 3 in terms of international exchange usage.

On September 9th, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc signed Government Resolution No. 5/2025 on the pilot implementation of the cryptocurrency market in Vietnam. This resolution takes effect from September 9th. The pilot period is 5 years.

The resolution stipulates the pilot implementation of offering and issuing crypto assets, organizing the crypto asset trading market and providing crypto asset services; and state management of the crypto asset market in Vietnam.

One of the conditions for obtaining a license to provide cryptocurrency trading market services is that the business providing these services must have a minimum capital of VND 10,000 billion, with at least 65% of the charter capital contributed by institutional shareholders or members, of which more than 35% of the charter capital must be contributed by at least two organizations such as commercial banks, securities companies, fund management companies, insurance companies, or technology companies.

With this regulation, commercial banks, securities companies, fund management companies, and insurance companies are considered to have a significant advantage in the roadmap for building a digital asset market in Vietnam.

VPBank and MB have expressed interest in participating.

Commercial banks, securities companies, fund management companies, and insurance companies have a significant advantage in the digital asset arena (Photo: DT).

Several large banks and securities companies are already preparing for the upcoming race. In its latest announcement, VPBank stated that it is finalizing the last procedures to participate in the pilot implementation of a cryptocurrency exchange. VPBank Securities Joint Stock Company (VPBankS) - a subsidiary of the bank - will play a leading role in their cryptocurrency exchange project.

At the annual meeting in April, Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh, General Director of VPBank, stated that the cryptocurrency market is a new, important but potentially risky field that requires a legal framework and the participation of organizations with strong foundations. Mr. Vinh also revealed that the bank had analyzed and contacted partners to prepare for entering this market.

Prior to VPBank, several other organizations also took steps to enter this field. In mid-August, Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) led the way by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dunamu Group at the Vietnam-Korea Business Forum in Seoul to cooperate in launching the first domestic digital asset exchange in Vietnam.

A series of securities companies join the fray.

On the securities firm side, the race is heating up with the participation of familiar names such as SSI Securities, Techcombank Securities, VIX Securities, etc.

VIX Securities established VIX Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company (abbreviated as VIXEX) and directly owns a 15% stake. FTG Vietnam Joint Stock Company is the largest shareholder with a 64.5% stake (FTG was previously associated with VIX Securities).

VIX Cryptocurrency Exchange has a charter capital of 1,000 billion VND, and Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu (born in 1978) is currently the General Director and Legal Representative.

Techcom Securities (TCBS) is also joining the game. In early May, the company became a founding shareholder of Techcom Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company (TCEX) with an initial charter capital of 3 billion VND.

Since 2022, SSI Securities has also established a subsidiary, SSI Digital Technology Joint Stock Company (SSI Digital - SSID). In June, member units of this securities company also signed strategic cooperation agreements with Tether - the world's largest stablecoin issuer, U2U Network, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Tether is the issuer.

An attractive "piece of the pie" that no company wants to miss.

The number of users of digital asset accounts in Vietnam increased fivefold between 2019 and 2024 (Image: Screenshot from Statista report).

At the annual meeting on the afternoon of April 18th, when asked about digital assets, Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of SSI Securities - said that a few years ago, like many people, he considered digital assets to be of no value. Since the governments of some countries began considering including digital currencies in national reserves similar to gold, his perspective has changed.

"This is an inevitable and irresistible trend. Once we have a legal framework, let's not treat this as a 'market manipulation' meme. Blockchain technology and digital currencies are the future, and they will bring great value to the economy," Mr. Hung told shareholders.

Smaller securities firms are also actively issuing new shares to qualify for participation.

Speaking to a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper, Mr. Nguyen The Minh - Director of Analysis at Yuanta Vietnam Securities Company - said that digital assets are an extremely attractive "piece of the pie" that no securities company wants to miss out on.

Because Vietnam is one of the world's leading countries in owning and trading digital assets (approximately 17 million people, with $1 trillion in transactions in 2024), ranking in the top 5 globally in interest in digital assets and top 3 in using international exchanges.

According to Statista's 2024 statistics, the number of users with digital asset accounts in Vietnam is estimated to reach 10.15 million, excluding the NFT (Non-fugible token) market, five times the number in 2019. Another statistic from Triple A in 2023 suggests this number could reach 20.1 million accounts.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/loat-ngan-hang-cong-ty-chung-khoan-chay-dua-vao-linh-vuc-tai-san-so-20250910100436603.htm