Crypto Asset Market - Piloting to Get It Right (Part 1)

Photo caption — Illustration photo: Reuters/VNA

The Government's issuance of Resolution 05 is considered a historic turning point in financial policy thinking, affirming the strong commitment of Party and State leaders to promote innovation, proactively create a digital economic future, maintain macroeconomic stability, and ensure financial security, safety, and national sovereignty in the digital space.

Together with the List of Strategic Technologies and Strategic Products, the Law on Digital Technology Industry, the National Strategy on Application and Development of Blockchain Technology to 2025, with a vision to 2030, and Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation, the basic legal corridor for the crypto asset market has been formed.

The opportunities and challenges of this new asset class market are reflected in a series of articles with the theme: "Crypto Asset Market - Piloting to Get It Right".

Lesson 1: Building a legal corridor

The digital economy era has given birth to a completely new form of ownership: crypto assets that are changing the way financial, commercial and technological markets operate. This is no longer a trend but is becoming the operating platform of the global digital economy.

According to CoinMarketCap (a cryptocurrency website founded in 2013 with the aim of allowing users to track information on more than 2 million cryptocurrencies) by May 2025, the global crypto asset capitalization is estimated to reach more than 3,300 billion USD, with about 15 million crypto assets.

About 21 million Vietnamese people invest in crypto assets

According to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), crypto assets are defined as "a digital representation of value that can be exchanged or transferred in digital form and can be used for payment or investment purposes". According to the European Regulation on Cryptoassets (MiCA), crypto assets can be divided into three groups: cryptocurrencies - a type of crypto asset designed to maintain stable value by referring to the value of a fiat currency; crypto assets linked to real assets - a type of crypto asset designed to maintain stable value by referring to the value of other assets; other crypto assets that do not fall into the above two groups, whose value depends on utility, scarcity or community acceptance (typically Bitcoin, Ethereum...).

Technically, crypto assets can be understood as cryptocurrencies created by cryptographic algorithms using blockchain technology to authenticate transactions. These are decentralized currencies, traded through peer-to-peer authentication technology and are not subject to the management or intervention of any third-party agency or organization (e.g., banks, government agencies, etc.). Some typical and popular cryptocurrencies today are Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC).

The world currently has more than 700 crypto-asset exchanges provided by organizations and companies, including famous exchanges such as Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Kraken... Many countries such as Singapore, China, European countries... are piloting the issuance of national digital currencies, demonstrating their determination to control the flow of new values in the digital space.

Mr. Phan Duc Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Asset Association, shared that there are many ways to classify crypto assets, depending on their characteristics and purposes. In Vietnam, crypto assets are divided into two types: those tied to real assets (RWA) and those not tied to real assets. As a populous country with a rapidly developing technology platform and a dynamic startup community, many Vietnamese investors have participated in the crypto asset market very early. Some Vietnamese startups such as Kyber Network, TomoChain, Coin98 have expanded globally.

Mr. Phan Duc Trung added that from reputable global sources such as TripleA (a Singapore-based financial technology company specializing in providing digital currency and digital asset payment solutions for businesses globally licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore), Chainalysis (a US blockchain analysis company headquartered in New York), Vietnam currently has about 21 million people investing in crypto assets and the annual cash flow is up to more than 100 billion USD. A survey by Statista (a global market information and data platform) shows that in 2023, Vietnam will rank second in the world in terms of population ownership of cryptocurrencies with about 20.5% of adults having ever traded.

According to Mr. Tran Huyen Dinh, Chairman of the Fintech Application Committee, Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Asset Association, these figures not only reflect the outstanding speed of technology adoption but also show the existence of a large-scale economic sector operating outside the legal corridor and State supervision. However, most activities take place without a clear monitoring mechanism, posing the risk of money laundering, fraud and budget loss. This is the reason why in 2023 the Financial Action Task Force assessed that the Vietnamese crypto asset market still has a "legal gray area".

Experts believe that crypto assets are one of the indispensable foundations for operating the digital economy. It helps establish transparent ownership, allows for fair value distribution, and opens the era of smart assets. Proactively building and piloting a crypto asset market is not only an economic development policy but also a strategic act of creating digital sovereignty.

Proactively create a legal "playground"

Resolute, clear, strong, especially the spirit of promoting innovation associated with national digital transformation is clearly demonstrated in the directions of the Party and Government on digital assets in general and the crypto asset market in particular.

According to Mr. Phan Duc Trung, from mid-2024 onwards, there were about 17 related documents, but most of them were only at the orientation level, not creating a complete legal corridor, so the market still had a certain "gray area". However, from October 2024 to now, there have been 9 consecutive important documents issued, creating a very clear legal change.

The most important of these are Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW; Decision No. 1131/QD-TTg dated June 12, 2025 of the Prime Minister identifying Blockchain as one of 11 strategic technologies; Law on Digital Technology Industry passed by the National Assembly on June 14, 2025 and will take effect from January 1, 2026 and most recently Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP dated September 9, 2025 of the Government on piloting the crypto asset market in Vietnam.

To take advantage of the huge economic potential of digital assets, while ensuring transparency, security and compliance with international standards, the Law on Digital Technology Industry for the first time defines and regulates the legal framework for digital assets, including crypto assets and virtual assets, classified by purpose of use and technology. “This is a very important milestone, because for the first time digital assets and crypto assets are officially recognized as assets, protected and managed under current laws such as the Civil Code or the Intellectual Property Law”, Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich, Director of the Department of Information Technology Industry ( Ministry of Science and Technology ) emphasized.

According to the Law, digital assets are assets as prescribed in the Civil Code, expressed in the form of digital data, created, issued, stored, transferred and authenticated by digital technology in the electronic environment. Crypto assets are digital assets created, issued, stored, transferred and authenticated by blockchain technology, distributed digital technology or other similar digital technology.

The Digital Technology Industry Law has changed the way the crypto asset market operates, which is influenced by foreign service providers. Before the law, fundraising activities often took place in closed groups, and many transactions on unlicensed platforms. With the Digital Technology Industry Law, these activities will be public and protected by law, helping to minimize risks and consequences for investors, while creating new opportunities for start-up projects and genuine innovative start-up businesses.

Although crypto assets are recognized in the Law on Digital Technology Industry, the Government's issuance of Resolution 05 shows that this is a market that the Government also focuses a lot on implementation in Vietnam. The Resolution stipulates that the pilot implementation of the crypto asset market is carried out on the principles of caution, control, a roadmap suitable to practice, safety, transparency, efficiency, and protection of the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals.

Colonel, Dr. Hoang Van Thuc - Director of the Academy of Cryptography, senior advisor to the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Assets Association, commented that in the context of the world adjusting institutions to proactively and effectively manage crypto assets, Vietnam's choice of a "controlled pilot" approach reflects the government's smart, cautious, and innovative risk management mindset. It is a flexible management approach, based on practice, observing, adjusting, and gradually perfecting institutions. Thereby, it is the clearest demonstration of the transformation in the leadership mindset of the Party and State from pure management to creation and development orientation.

Putting the market under the control of the State not only ensures order and financial security but also affirms national digital sovereignty. More importantly, it creates a “security fence” to prevent the exploitation of crypto assets for money laundering, terrorist financing or infringement of national financial sovereignty. The 5-year pilot period will create a large enough space for testing, practical assessment, drawing lessons and flexible policy adjustments. This approach has both a long-term vision and ensures the safety of the national financial and monetary system. (To be continued)

Lesson 2: Assess opportunities, identify challenges