The sea breeze in Da Nang has brought warmth to the cryptocurrency market.

"Before, I had to switch to USDT through gray channels, and now there’s actually an official platform!" a blockchain developer in Hanoi recently lamented. In just these two months, Vietnam has approved the first sandbox testing platform for legal USDT exchange to Vietnamese dong (VND). This decision may seem simple, but it actually marks the opening of the door to compliance for the fifth-ranked country in global crypto adoption.

Speaking of 2025, it will be a "turning point" year for Vietnam’s crypto market — in June, the Digital Technology Industry Law granted legal status to digital assets, and in September, a five-year trading pilot was launched. The official implementation of the USDT exchange service is like the most crucial piece of this series of reforms.

**From Ban to Trial, a Major Shift in Regulatory Approach**

Rewind to 2014. At that time, the Vietnamese government’s stance was very clear — virtual currencies are not legal payment methods, and related transactions are not protected by law. This attitude persisted for over a decade.

But here’s an interesting contrast: strict official control, yet a thriving underground market. According to Chainalysis data, Vietnam’s total crypto asset market cap has surpassed $220 billion. Among the Asia-Pacific region, it ranks within the top three. Even more astonishing, about one-fifth of the population holds some form of digital assets.

With such a huge market, regulators couldn’t just turn a blind eye. So they finally chose a pragmatic path: both regulation and leaving room for experimentation.

**How is this achieved? Several key actions taken together**

First is legal support. Last June’s Digital Technology Industry Law is quite significant — it’s the first time digital assets have been explicitly recognized at the national legal level, laying a foundation for subsequent regulatory policies.

Second is setting access thresholds. Want to operate a trading platform? You must meet strict requirements for capital adequacy, risk control, and user protection. The benefit of this approach is to open the market while preventing unreliable participants.

Additionally, sandbox testing acts as a "training ground" for compliant platforms. Before large-scale deployment, processes are tested within limited scope to identify issues and gather experience.

**Why is this so important for the market?**

On the surface, it’s just adding a USDT exchange channel. But in reality, it bridges compliant stablecoins with mainstream fiat currencies.

For retail investors, they finally don’t have to resort to black markets. Security, price transparency, and fund safety are no longer concerns.

For exchanges and blockchain companies, this is a legitimate pathway into the Vietnamese market. No more hiding.

For regulators, it provides data, control points, and a basis for policy improvements.

**What’s the next pace?**

The five-year pilot plan means Vietnam won’t try to do everything at once. They are experimenting, observing, and adjusting along the way. During this process, the application scenarios for stablecoins will become more diverse, and more exchange pairs may be gradually opened.

But don’t expect too much too soon. Vietnam is still in the exploration stage; policies may fluctuate, and regulatory measures could tighten. However, the overall direction is forward — from outright bans to conditional openness, which is already a substantial progress.

For other countries in the region, Vietnam’s approach also offers a reference: high-growth, high-risk crypto markets are better guided through refined regulation rather than outright prohibition. This way, investors are protected, and development opportunities are preserved.