HANOI, March 17 (Reuters) - Vietnamese companies are competing to launch the country's first licensed cryptocurrency exchanges as the government moves to curb trading on overseas platforms in one of the world's most active crypto markets.
Hanoi plans to roll out a pilot scheme for locally run digital asset exchanges as soon as this month, according to a government resolution issued in February, as part of a broader effort to tighten oversight of crypto trading and capital flows.
Five companies passed an initial qualification round, according to a finance ministry document dated March 12 and reviewed by Reuters this week.
Among them are affiliates of three Vietnamese private banks - Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank - as well as stockbroker VIX Securities and Sun Group, one of Vietnam's largest private conglomerates, the document showed.
Sun Group and VPBank confirmed their licence applications, while the other three firms did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
A spokesperson for the ministry said authorities were working on the matter but would not comment on specific applicants.
WORLD'S FOURTH-MOST ACTIVE MARKET
Vietnam has emerged as one of the world's most active crypto markets, ranking fourth globally in last year's Global Crypto Adoption Index compiled by blockchain data firm Chainalysis, which estimated transactions involving Vietnamese traders exceeded $200 billion in the 12 months to June.
Authorities have grown increasingly concerned about the use of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins amid a rise in popularity regionally, increasing the risks of uncontrolled capital outflows.
The finance ministry is drafting new rules that would prohibit Vietnamese nationals from trading on overseas crypto platforms.
Vietnam tightly restricts cross-border capital transfers. With a small and underdeveloped corporate bond market and a stock exchange still classified as frontier, many domestic savers channel their money into gold or property instead.
Gold prices in Vietnam trade at a premium of about 10% to global benchmarks, while the housing market has been prone to bouts of speculation, highlighting the limited investment options available to households.
Although there is no explicit ban on owning cryptocurrencies, digital assets are not recognised as money or a legal means of payment in Vietnam. As a result, most Vietnamese traders currently use overseas centralised exchanges such as Binance, OKX and Bybit, market participants say.
Phan Duc Trung, chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Assets Association, said successful domestic exchanges could help keep transaction fees inside the country and support the development of Vietnam's digital financial services industry.
"This would not only contribute to state budget revenues but also promote the growth of the domestic digital economy," said Trung, while cautioning that the legal framework remains incomplete, particularly in areas such as supervision, taxation and risk management.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Kevin Buckland)
