Vietnam Accelerates Digital-Asset Rulemaking After Unchained Summit

Vietnam is stepping up efforts to formalize regulation of digital assets.

Aeternum said on June 10 that the global Web3 conference Unchained Summit Vietnam was held in Da Nang in late May. Participants included the Da Nang People’s Committee, the State Securities Commission of Vietnam, and the Da Nang Department of Science and Technology.

A keynote address by To Tran Hoa, standing deputy director general at the cryptocurrency market management and supervision department under the State Securities Commission, drew particular attention. He said Vietnam is putting in place five core market structures for the crypto sector, including a separation between technology oversight and financial supervision, standards for virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, and a clearly defined state management function.

He also outlined investor-protection principles. Users should be able to access regulated crypto services and issuers, while the right to dispute resolution and compensation should be set out in law. Disclosure obligations for service providers and issuers, along with protection of user rights and interests, were also identified as core principles.

Vietnam is also moving to close regulatory gray areas in the market. To Tran Hoa identified anti-money laundering measures, efforts to prevent terrorist financing, security for personal, organizational and market data, protection of institutional and individual assets, and compliance with domestic and international regulations as key tasks ahead.

The legislative framework is also becoming more concrete. Vietnam is pushing to institutionalize the digital-asset market based on measures including Ministry of Finance enforcement rules covering crypto accounting and tax regulations.

To Tran Hoa argued that the crypto market should be viewed as a growth opportunity for the national economy. He cited a global crypto market capitalization of more than $3 trillion and the presence of more than 100 fintech companies in Vietnam. In his view, the digital-asset market could serve as a foundation for developing the country’s financial and technology talent.

Following the event, some participants agreed to consider creating a working group involving the State Securities Commission and other institutions. The proposal emerged from a closed-door roundtable held during the conference.

The next Unchained Summit events are scheduled for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in September and India in November.