Vietnam to fine crypto traders up to $1,900 for unlicensed platforms

Vietnam will fine individual investors as much as 50 million dong, about $1,900, for buying or selling crypto through platforms the Ministry of Finance has not licensed. The penalties take effect September 1 and mark the first time the country has penalized retail crypto traders directly. Vietnam ranked fourth in Chainalysis’s 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index with crypto activity exceeding $220 billion between July 2024 and June 2025.

The fine for using an unlicensed platform ranges from 30 million to 50 million dong ($1,140 to $1,900). It jumps to 70 million to 100 million dong ($2,660 to $3,800) if the investor buys assets restricted to foreign buyers. Crypto service providers and issuers face fines of 180 million to 200 million dong ($6,840 to $7,600) for operating without a license or advertising without authorization. Companies that issue crypto assets without meeting conditions or fail to publish required documents get fined 150 million to 200 million dong ($5,700 to $7,600). Mishandling account data carries the same penalty. In general, an individual committing the same violation as a company pays half.

The rules are part of Decree 284/2026, which stays in effect while the five-year pilot crypto market runs. That pilot, established under Resolution 05/2025, began in September 2025. The government will license no more than five exchanges during the pilot’s first phase. Eligible operators must hold charter capital of at least 10 trillion dong, about $382 million, with foreign ownership capped at 49%.