Vietnam sets low bar for crypto taxes to pull trading onshore

[HO CHI MINH CITY] Vietnam has imposed a flat 0.1 per cent tax on local crypto transactions, particularly for domestic and foreign individual investors.

This reflects a simplified approach to attract traders into formal platforms while maintaining regulatory oversight of a fast-growing market long operating in a legal grey area.

The move comes as the country rolls out a five-year pilot for its digital assets market, with about five crypto exchanges set to be licensed.

“The rate is reasonable at this stage compared with existing practices in the local stock market,” said Dao Tien Phong, managing lawyer at Investpush Legal, emphasising that taxing transaction value rather than net profit could simplify enforcement, compliance and oversight during the pilot phase.

“Genuine investors are unlikely to be overly concerned about the tax level itself; their main focus will be on how it is implemented and enforced,” he added.

Under Circular 32, effective Mar 27, individuals – regardless of residency status – will be subject to a personal income tax of 0.1 per cent on the value of each crypto transaction.

Foreign organisations trading via licensed service providers in Vietnam will face a similar 0.1 per cent corporate tax on transaction value.

“The 0.1 per cent tax rate for foreign investors is also ‘very low’ relative to the benefit of trading through regulated channels with transparent income in Vietnam,” he said.

Domestic companies earning from crypto transfers, by contrast, will face a 20 per cent corporate income tax on profits, calculated as proceeds minus acquisition costs and related expenses. The same rate applies to local firms providing crypto-related services.

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Transfers and trading of crypto assets will not be subject to value-added tax (VAT), though related activities that do not involve direct transfers remain taxable under existing VAT rules.

Local exchanges to be licensed

The latest tax framework comes as authorities move ahead with licensing a handful of exchanges during a pilot phase for the local crypto market, under a 2025 government resolution released last September.

Five companies have passed a preliminary evaluation round for the pilot programme, based on a Mar 12 Ministry of Finance document seen by The Business Times.

The list includes entities linked to private lenders Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank, alongside VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group.

To qualify for a licence, crypto-asset service providers must meet stringent requirements, including minimum capital of 10 trillion dong (S$489.2 million), with at least 65 per cent contributed by institutional investors.

Participation from regulated financial institutions such as banks, securities firms and insurers is mandatory, while foreign ownership is capped at 49 per cent.

One of the most controversial provisions is that domestic investors trading crypto assets outside licensed platforms could face administrative penalties or even criminal prosecution, depending on the severity of the violation.

Recent industry discussions among officials also indicated tighter enforcement of the ban on trading via offshore platforms, which is expected to begin six months after the first local licence is granted.

Nguyen The Vinh, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Blockchain Association, said that given the complex compliance requirements, the first official local exchange is likely to launch only towards the end of this year. An additional six months is needed for user onboarding and transferring assets from global platforms.

“Foreign exchanges still have about a year to capitalise on growth and engage Vietnamese users without regulatory barriers,” he wrote in a recent Facebook post, adding that this situation opens opportunities for potential collaborations and will also “incidentally” help local exchanges gain more users in the future.

International exchanges have been dominant in Vietnam. Binance, for example, captured more than 80 per cent of the market share among Vietnamese users on centralised exchanges, based on a 2024 survey by TGM Research.

Despite the recent regulatory barriers, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume recently posted job openings for a Vietnam general manager based in Ho Chi Minh City, along with other engineering roles in the country.

Over the past year, global crypto firms including Binance, Bybit and Tether have also expanded partnerships in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, where fintech sandboxes are being developed, particularly within the cities’ International Financial Centre initiatives.

Vietnam has emerged as one of the region’s fastest-growing crypto markets. The country received about US$220 billion worth of crypto between July 2024 and June 2025, up 55 per cent from a year earlier. It ranked third in Asia-Pacific behind India and South Korea, based on a report by Chainalysis.