Vietnam is progressing towards launching a pilot program for a cryptocurrency exchange by 2025. This initiative aims to establish a formal regulatory framework, capitalizing on the nation’s high rate of crypto ownership. A 21.2% crypto ownership rate places Vietnam fifth globally in Chainalysis’s 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, underscoring significant public engagement with digital assets.
The upcoming regulatory environment is further solidified with the Digital Technology Industry Law taking effect in January 2026, formally recognizing crypto assets. These developments aim to provide structure and oversight to the burgeoning digital asset market within the country.
In related industry news, Bakkt Holdings has acquired a strategic 30% stake in the Tokyo-listed company Marusho Hotta. As part of this move, Marusho Hotta will be rebranded to ‘bitcoin.jp’, indicating a sharpened focus on Bitcoin-centric treasury management solutions for the Japanese market.
Meanwhile, infrastructure provider Chainlink has expanded its offerings with the launch of ‘Data Streams’. This product delivers low-latency, real-time pricing feeds for US equities, enhancing DeFi capabilities across 37 supported blockchains.