Vietnam Cracks Down on Unlicensed Crypto Traders with New Penalty Regime

Vietnam has implemented its first administrative penalty regime for cryptocurrency, effective September 1. Decree No. 284/2026/ND-CP introduces fines of 30 million to 50 million Vietnamese dong for domestic investors who trade on unlicensed platforms.

The decree targets individual traders rather than the platforms themselves, with a six-month grace period before mandatory licensed trading is enforced.

No exchange license has been issued yet, but five companies have cleared the first assessment. They must meet Level 4 information-system security requirements and contribute at least 10 trillion dong (about $383 million) in capital to receive a license.