Korean Giants Enter Vietnam’s Digital Asset Market

On September 23, Vietnam’s digital asset market heated up once again as IDGX – the digital investment arm of IDG Capital Vietnam – signed a strategic partnership with BDACS, a licensed institutional digital asset custodian from South Korea. This move marks a major step toward establishing the first joint venture (JV) in Vietnam focused on international-standard trading and custody services.

According to the agreement, the JV will develop a modern digital financial hub, combining both an exchange and custody system, aligned with Vietnam’s upcoming regulatory framework. If successful, Vietnam could soon emerge as a leading destination for digital asset investors in Southeast Asia. The venture is expected to launch later this year under the regulatory sandbox, a pilot program designed for innovative financial models.

A key highlight is BDACS’s recent trial of KRW1 – the first stablecoin pegged to the Korean won, fully backed 1:1 by Woori Bank and issued on the Avalanche blockchain. However, the project remains in the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage as South Korea’s stablecoin regulations are not yet finalized.

This is not the first Korean move into Vietnam. Back in August, Dunamu – operator of Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange – signed an MoU with MB Bank to develop a digital asset exchange in Vietnam. These moves underline South Korea’s growing focus on Vietnam, a market with a young population, high investment demand, and increasingly open regulations.

Meanwhile, new domestic exchanges are rapidly emerging. In just over a month, CAEX (Sept 19) launched with VND 25 billion capital backed by VPBankS, LynkiD, and Future Land; DNEX (Sept 9) was founded with VND 2 billion; VIXEX (Aug 26) entered with VND 1,000 billion; while TCEX from Techcombank’s ecosystem has been active since May. Additionally, SSI is expanding its digital finance arm through partnerships with Tether, U2U, and AWS to build infrastructure.

This growing competition reflects a strong wave of digitalization in Vietnam’s financial sector, where companies are not only racing on capital but also forging strategic alliances with global corporations to secure early leadership.

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.