The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance has included digital assets in the category of collateral for small and medium-sized enterprise loans, marking a substantial advancement in the regulatory framework following last year's establishment of the legal status of encrypted assets under the Digital Technology Industry Law. The law classifies digital assets into virtual assets and encrypted assets, set to take effect in early 2026. The current move aims to activate financing for SMEs, which make up 98% of enterprises but only receive 20% of credit, aligning with steps such as opening applications for domestic trading platform licenses in March and planning to launch a regulated market in the third quarter. The key point is that the draft also lists "assets to be formed in the future" as collateral, surpassing traditional physical assets and even existing digital assets, opening a compliant pathway for financial innovation based on expected cash flows or equity, demonstrating Vietnam's attempt to leverage more flexible asset recognition to break through credit bottlenecks.

On May 31, the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance proposed allowing SMEs to use digital assets, virtual assets, and intellectual property as collateral for bank loans to expand corporate financing channels. According to the "Support Law for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Revised Draft)" currently seeking public comments, enterprises can future use digital assets, virtual assets, intangible assets, intellectual property, and assets to be formed in the future as loan collateral.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Finance stated that SMEs and individual businesses account for over 98% of the total number of enterprises in Vietnam, but their loan balances only account for about 20% of the total bank credit nationwide. Notably, Vietnam is accelerating the regulation of the crypto industry. In March this year, Vietnam opened a channel for applying for local crypto trading platform licenses and plans to launch the first regulated crypto markets as early as the third quarter of 2026. $BNB