The digital asset "playing field" is starting to get exciting.

Following the government's issuance of Resolution 05/2025 on piloting the cryptocurrency market, many large financial institutions have been busily preparing and quickly entering the market. Many financial giants want to immediately secure a position in this promising new arena.

Many have been submitted, but... they haven't met the requirements yet.

On September 19th, Vietnam Prosperity Cryptocurrency Exchange Joint Stock Company (CAEX) was established with an initial capital of 25 billion VND, with the participation of VPBankS (11%), LynkiD Joint Stock Company (50%), and Future Land (39%). VPBankS played a leading role, mobilizing a team of blockchain, finance, and cybersecurity experts, along with international consulting firms.

Previously, in August 2025, Military Bank (MB) also collaborated with Dunamu - the operator of the Upbit digital asset exchange in South Korea - to develop infrastructure, provide legal advice, and train personnel.

Many financial institutions with extensive ecosystems are looking to enter the digital asset arena. (Image illustrated using AI)

In the securities industry, VIX Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company (VIXEX) was also established on August 26th with a capital of 1,000 billion VND, with the main shareholders being VIX Securities (15%) and FTG Vietnam (64.5%).

One company in the financial sector, HVA Investment Joint Stock Company (HVA Group), has also just announced the documents for its 2025 extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, presenting a series of strategic plans to increase capital and expand into the "hot" areas of digital assets. HVA Group plans to invest in Onuschain - a domestic blockchain technology company - to establish the DNEX digital asset exchange with a capital scale of approximately 10,000 billion VND, raised from strategic investors in stages.

Although more and more entities are emerging in this new market, initial information indicates that most businesses establishing digital asset exchanges have not yet met the minimum capital requirements stipulated by law. Specifically, businesses must have a minimum charter capital of 10,000 billion VND, with at least 65% contributed by organizations and over 35% by financial institutions. Therefore, to date, no businesses have been granted licenses to operate pilot digital asset markets.

Focus on technology and human resources.

With a capital requirement three times higher than the minimum capital of commercial banks, many believe this playing field is almost exclusively for the "big players." A representative from VFS Securities commented that this condition will reshape the domestic cryptocurrency market, limiting the playing field. Small and medium-sized securities companies will have to shift their roles, becoming providers of auxiliary services such as consulting and analysis within the ecosystem created by the "big players."

Besides registered capital, requirements regarding business performance, governance, and technology are also major barriers for small businesses, especially startups. Only truly strong entities with comprehensive ecosystems and superior technological capabilities are able to participate. This is also why many digital asset service providers such as Coin98 Wallet and KyberSwap from Vietnamese startups have withdrawn from the market.

Many domestic and international delegates participated in Vietnam Blockchain Day 2025 to discuss policy testing frameworks in digital assets. Photo: Dinh Bao

Many experts believe that Vietnam's decision to control the digital asset market from the outset was the right approach during the testing phase. The regulations requiring pilot exchanges to have domestic licenses, trade in VND, and possess substantial charter capital ensure financial capacity while also acting as a "filter" to ensure only truly serious and financially capable organizations participate.

Regarding this, Mr. Phan Duc Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain Association, commented that the biggest challenge currently facing the digital asset market is human resources. The recent Bybit exchange hack, which resulted in a loss of $1.5 billion, is a prime example. Despite high liquidity and significant investment in security, the incident stemmed from human oversight of certain steps in the operational process. This is a basic type of attack that can occur to any organization, regardless of its security level.

Currently, tens of millions of Vietnamese people are participating spontaneously, most lacking basic knowledge, creating significant risks. Therefore, it is crucial to quickly build a workforce with proper training and practical experience, from state management to market operations. If the human resources issue is not resolved, even with a comprehensive legal framework, implementation in practice will still face many obstacles.

Mr. MICHAEL KOKALARI , Director of Macroeconomic Analysis and Market Research at VinaCapital:

A new fundraising channel for the digital economy.

The Vietnamese government's pilot program for a cryptocurrency exchange and the launch of NDAChain – Vietnam's national blockchain platform – is a strategic step that helps legitimize transactions, increase tax revenue, and connect digital assets to Vietnam's financial system.

If properly regulated, this market will not only help control ongoing transactions, estimated at over $100 billion annually, but also open up a new channel for capital mobilization for the digital economy. This will promote tokenization in Vietnam, meaning that familiar financial assets (bonds, mutual funds, commercial invoices, carbon credits) will be issued and traded as digital assets on managed infrastructures linked to banks.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan , Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics:

Building a diverse ecosystem

We should design a more open playing field where fintech companies can participate in a controlled and transparent manner, but without excessive restrictions. The cryptocurrency market should not be limited to buying and selling, but should develop into a comprehensive ecosystem encompassing DeFi (decentralized finance), peer-to-peer lending based on digital assets, real estate tokenization, carbon credits, and secure custody services to protect investors. Only such a diverse ecosystem can become a launching pad for Vietnamese startups to expand internationally.

HANH NHUNG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ruc-rich-san-choi-tai-san-so-post814557.html