Fighting Crypto Money Laundering in Vietnam

Vietnam's Digital Asset Market: Rapid Growth and Hidden Risks

Vietnam's digital asset market is experiencing explosive growth, attracting tens of millions of investors and posing significant challenges for anti-money laundering (AML) efforts, economic security, and national data protection. This rapid growth, while offering numerous opportunities, also creates loopholes for illicit activities, especially money laundering on an alarming scale.

Impressive Scale and Capital Flows

Vietnam is currently one of the leading countries in the number of digital asset owners, with over 20 million people, ranking 5th globally according to some reports. Crypto asset capital flows into Vietnam are projected to reach over $220 billion by 2025, a 55% increase from the previous year. The total on-chain crypto asset transaction value in Vietnam also exceeded $200 billion by mid-2025, ranking third globally, only behind India and South Korea.

Trading activities are primarily conducted on major international exchanges such as Binance, HTX, OKX, Bybit, and Tez. Additionally, peer-to-peer (P2P) digital asset exchanges through private online groups are also common, with daily transaction values potentially reaching millions of USDT. The global digital asset market size is currently at $4.2 trillion and is expected to reach $5 trillion by 2028, with Bitcoin accounting for over 50% of the market capitalization.

Mr. Phan Duc Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain Association, emphasized: "Compliance is not a cost, but a condition for existence." He cited cases where major global exchanges were fined billions of USD for violating anti-money laundering regulations.

Money Laundering Risks Through Digital Assets: Major Challenges

Nature of Digital Assets and Legal Framework Gaps

Digital assets possess anonymity, decentralization, and cross-border characteristics, which criminals fully exploit to create an "underground market" to conceal illicit funds. To date, Vietnam lacks specific regulations and a unified understanding of digital assets, creating legal loopholes for criminals to exploit for money laundering. Activities related to virtual currencies remain outside legal regulation and are not subject to state agency management. Vietnam's National Risk Assessment Report on Money Laundering for the 2018-2022 period classified the risk for four virtual asset-related contents as medium-high/high.

Sophisticated Criminal Tactics

Exploiting crypto assets for illegal fundraising and concealing illicit money flows.

Converting proceeds of crime ("dirty money") into crypto assets, especially through international exchanges like Binance, HTX, OKX, with daily transaction values reaching trillions of VND.

Using virtual currencies for scams, establishing fake investment projects, or Ponzi schemes.

Crypto transactions often do not require third-party verification, personal information, or user location, making tracing difficult.

Economic and National Security Damages

From December 15, 2019, to May 14, 2024, the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control Department (A05 – Ministry of Public Security) detected nearly 20,000 cyber fraud cases involving over 17,000 individuals, causing damages exceeding 12,000 billion VND. A significant portion of this money was converted into crypto assets. Most transactions occurred on international exchanges, leading to tax revenue losses and increasing risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, and high-tech crime, directly threatening economic security and national data security.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Chung, Deputy Head of Room 4, Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control Department (A05 – Ministry of Public Security), warned that criminals are fully exploiting the anonymity and cross-border nature of digital assets to create an "underground market" and circulate illicit funds.

Vietnam's Efforts to Combat Digital Asset Money Laundering: A Crucial Turning Point

Completing the Legal Framework

Vietnam has been on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) "grey list" since June 2023, which creates pressure and requires Vietnam to comply with 17 recommendations on anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing.

Government's Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP

This is the first significant legal document allowing a 5-year pilot program for the crypto asset market in Vietnam, effective from September 9, 2025. This Resolution clearly stipulates that organizations and individuals participating in the market must strictly comply with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulations. It permits a maximum of 5 licensed crypto asset service providers, requiring a chartered capital of at least 10,000 billion VND, with 65% of the capital belonging to domestic organizations, and adherence to Level 4 technology security standards. Six months after the first organization is licensed, all crypto asset transactions not conducted through these licensed entities will be handled according to regulations, aiming to control money flows and combat money laundering. Concurrently, piloted crypto assets are required to be linked with Real World Assets (RWA) to ensure market transparency and stability.

Resolution No. 222/2025/QH15 and the Law on Digital Technology Industry

National Assembly Resolution No. 222/2025/QH15 provides the legal basis for piloting the issuance, trading, and management of crypto assets. The Law on Digital Technology Industry (effective from January 1, 2026) officially recognizes digital assets, requiring crypto platforms to obtain licenses and allowing direct trading in VND. The State Bank of Vietnam has also issued guidelines to credit institutions and payment intermediaries to strengthen control over virtual currency-related transactions and not to provide payment or credit services for these activities. The Anti-Money Laundering Department (State Bank) mandates customer identification for transactions of $1,000 or more, tracking, and data retention for 10 years. The Ministry of Finance is currently drafting a Decree on administrative penalties to tighten management of crypto asset activities.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Tho, Deputy Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Department, State Bank of Vietnam, affirmed that Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP is a crucial step for Vietnam to meet international anti-money laundering standards and exit the FATF grey list.

Technological Solutions and Collaboration

Applying advanced monitoring technologies such as Chainalysis, ChainTracer, or Elliptic to track and trace transactions in real-time.

Establishing an inter-agency task force to monitor suspicious transactions and setting up a centralized monitoring system managed by the Ministry of Public Security or the State Bank.

Enhancing coordination between state management agencies and the People's Public Security force, especially the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control Department (A05), to review and control crypto money laundering activities through services like mixers, privacy coins, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Developing licensed domestic exchanges to help authorities effectively control money laundering risks and protect user rights.

Conclusion

Vietnam is at a critical juncture in controlling its digital asset market. The promulgation and implementation of new resolutions and laws, such as Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP and the Law on Digital Technology Industry, demonstrate the Government's determination to build a transparent, secure, internationally integrated digital asset market and effectively combat money laundering crimes, protecting economic and national data security. However, the enforcement and continuous updating of solutions, technologies, and legal frameworks to keep pace with the speed of development and the sophistication of criminals are essential to ensure a healthy and sustainable digital financial environment.

Disclaimer: The content above reflects the author’s personal views and does not represent any official position of Cobic News. The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice from Cobic News.