Vietnam is moving closer to formal crypto regulation with a draft framework from the Ministry of Finance that would tax retail activity on a per-transaction basis. Under the proposal, individuals trading or transferring cryptocurrencies through licensed service providers would pay a 0.1% personal income tax on the value of each transaction, while crypto trading and transfers would be exempt from VAT.
The structure mirrors the tax treatment currently used for stock trading in Vietnam. It also shows how the government is positioning digital assets: closer to financial instruments than consumer goods. The draft does not stop at taxation. It also tightens the rules for firms that want to operate digital asset trading platforms.
Retail investors taxed on transaction value, firms on net profits
For individuals, the proposed levy would apply each time a crypto transfer is executed within the regulated system, regardless of whether the investor is a resident. The taxable base is the value of the transaction itself, not trading gains. That is a key distinction.
Companies and institutional investors would be handled differently. Profits from crypto trading would fall under Vietnam’s standard 20% corporate income tax regime, with acquisition costs and related expenses deductible before tax is calculated. In practice, that puts corporate crypto income in line with other forms of business income.
Digital asset definition and steep market-entry terms
The draft also sets out a formal definition of crypto assets as digital assets that rely on cryptographic or similar technologies for issuance, storage, and transaction verification. That definition matters because it sets the scope for licensing, compliance, and platform oversight.
Exchange operators would face heavy entry requirements. Any firm seeking to run a digital asset trading platform would need at least 10 trillion Vietnamese dong in charter capital, or about $408 million. Foreign ownership would be permitted, but capped at 49%. For overseas and domestic applicants alike, the barrier is high.
Five-year pilot continues as licensing opens
The proposal comes during Vietnam’s five-year pilot program for a regulated crypto market, launched in September 2025. Even though Vietnam ranks among the leading countries for crypto adoption, no firms applied at the beginning of the pilot, largely because the capital and compliance burden was already substantial.
In January 2026, Vietnam began accepting license applications for crypto exchanges. That moved the process from policy discussion into implementation. If the draft is adopted, Vietnam’s crypto market would be governed by a structure that looks much more like the traditional securities market: transaction-based tax for individuals, profit-based tax for companies, and strict licensing standards for platforms.