The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance plans to allow small and medium-sized enterprises to use digital assets as collateral for bank loans.

Odaily Planet Daily News: In a policy proposal aimed at improving funding access for private enterprises and technology startups, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has proposed allowing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to use digital assets, virtual assets, and intellectual property as collateral for bank loans. The proposal has been included in a revised draft of the “Small and Medium Enterprise Support Law,” which is currently open for public comment.

Under the draft, the government seeks to diversify the forms of acceptable loan collateral, moving away from relying mainly on traditional secured assets such as real estate. The draft encourages credit institutions to expand lending based on credit ratings, business plans, market expansion potential, and enterprise cash flow, rather than heavily relying on collateral tied to fixed assets. Data shows that by the end of April, outstanding loans in Vietnam’s SME sector stood at only nearly 3.8 quadrillion Vietnamese dong, which is about $144.2 billion—roughly 20% of the total credit in the entire banking system. (vietnamnews)