Vietnam ranks among the top 3 countries in the world with the highest percentage of cryptocurrency owners, with approximately over 17 million accounts participating in the market, and at times even exceeding 20 million users. Therefore, when the legal framework – the Law on Digital Technology Industry – officially comes into effect, issues regarding enforcement mechanisms to protect people's digital assets are also receiving attention…
The Law on Digital Technology Industry (effective from January 1, 2026) stipulates: Digital assets are assets as defined in the Civil Code, expressed in the form of digital data, created, issued, stored, transferred, and authenticated by digital technology in an electronic environment (Article 46).
Digital assets include (Article 47):
(1) Virtual assets in the electronic environment are a type of digital asset that can be used for exchange or investment purposes. Virtual assets do not include securities, digital forms of fiat currency and other financial assets as prescribed by civil law; financial law;
(2) Cryptographic assets are a type of digital asset that uses cryptographic technology or similar digital technology to authenticate the asset during creation, issuance, storage, and transfer. Cryptographic assets do not include securities, digital forms of fiat currency, and other financial assets as prescribed by civil law; financial law;
(3) Other digital assets.
This legal framework, along with Resolution 05 on the pilot implementation of the cryptocurrency market in Vietnam, will gradually change the way the digital asset and Capital market operates, which has been influenced by foreign service providers. In reality, before the law, Capital activities in the digital asset market often took place within closed groups, and many transactions occurred on unlicensed platforms.
When the Law on Digital Technology Industry comes into effect, these activities will shift to a public format and be protected by law. This helps minimize risks and consequences for investors, while creating new opportunities for startups and genuine innovative businesses.
Given this context, how have policymakers and lawmakers viewed, responded to, and implemented legal solutions to regulate this new asset class?
Essentially, crypto assets reflect a value and possess all the characteristics and properties of assets; therefore, crypto assets have been officially recognized as assets. So, in the future, how should Vietnam continue to research and develop laws to protect citizens' digital assets?
