Vietnam pushes local crypto exchanges as Hanoi moves to block offshore trading: Reuters

Policy Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Vietnam pushes local crypto exchanges as Hanoi moves to block offshore trading: Reuters The move aims to regulate the country's growing crypto market and restrict trading on foreign platforms. By Francisco Rodrigues , AI Boost | Edited by Sheldon Reback Mar 17, 2026, 2:45 p.m. Make us preferred on Google Vietnam is piloting a crypto exchange licensing program. (Ajay Karpur/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk) What to know : Vietnam is starting a pilot program for local cryptocurrency exchanges, with five companies cleared for the initial round, including affiliates of major banks and a business conglomerate. The move aims to regulate the country's growing crypto market and restrict trading on foreign platforms. The regulatory framework for crypto in Vietnam was recognized last year, and officials are seeking to balance innovation with oversight to control capital flows and speculation. Vietnamese firms are racing to secure licences for the country’s first domestic cryptocurrency exchanges as Hanoi moves to restrict trading on foreign platforms. A government resolution issued in February calls for a pilot program for locally run digital asset exchanges, with a rollout possible as soon as March. A March 12 Finance Ministry document showed that five companies cleared an initial screening round, Reuters reported . These include affiliates of three private banks in the country including Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank, along with VIX Securities and the Sun Group conglomerate. The move could reshape a market that has grown fast with little formal oversight. Vietnam has ranked fourth in Chainalysis’ latest Global Crypto Adoption Index , with Vietnamese users having moved an estimated $200 billion in crypto in the year through June 2025. Officials are concerned that heavy use of crypto and stablecoins could weaken control over capital flows. Vietnam already limits cross-border transfers, and many households have few places to put savings beyond gold and property. That has helped drive gold prices above global levels and fueled waves of housing speculation, the report points out. Vietnam passed a landmark law officially recognizing digital and crypto assets early last year, outlining a broad framework for managing crypto and fostering innovation in the sector. Vietnam Crypto Exchanges Regulation AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy . More For You U.S. Democrats target government officials gaming prediction markets on war action By Jesse Hamilton , Nikhilesh De | Edited by Nikhilesh De 46 minutes ago Potential indicators of prior-knowledge bets on U.S. military action spurred Democrats from the Senate and House of Representatives to introduce a new bill. What to know : Democrats in Congress are pushing legislation to cut off government officials and others from making bets in prediction markets when they know the outcome. The latest bill is based on suspicions that government insiders placed wagers before the attacks in Iran and Venezuela. The new legislation follows a similar bill from Representative Ritchie Torres introduced in January. Read full story Latest Crypto News Robinhood’s new venture fund just snapped up stakes in Stripe and ElevenLabs 12 minutes ago 'Gensler and Biden were just better for crypto,' says Tally CEO as DAO governance platform shuts down 16 minutes ago Crypto trading firm GSR expands token advisory with $57 million in acquisitions 31 minutes ago U.S. Democrats target government officials gaming prediction markets on war action 46 minutes ago U.S. regional banks building tokenized deposit network on ZKsync to rival stablecoins 1 hour ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: Uniswap (UNI) drops 4.1%, leading index lower 1 hour ago Top Stories Mastercard agrees to buy stablecoin platform BVNK for up to $1.8 billion 2 hours ago Citigroup cuts BTC and ETH targets as U.S. crypto legislation stalls 1 hour ago Bitcoin consolidation seen with BTC remaining 'overbought' after pullback 4 hours ago PayPal expands its stablecoin into 70 markets 2 hours ago OpenSea delays highly anticipated token launch, citing challenging crypto market conditions 17 hours ago Equity, oil and bond markets have freaked out. Bitcoin traders have not. 4 hours ago