OKX and HashKey invest in new Vietnam exchange ahead of crypto licensing push
The partnership will help the exchange meet Vietnam’s $380 million capital requirement to enter a government pilot program aimed at licensing local platforms and curbing offshore trading.
What to know:
- OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital are investing in Vietnam Prosperity Crypto Asset Exchange (CAEX), positioning it as a key player in Vietnam’s emerging regulated crypto market.
- The funding lifts CAEX’s capital base to about $380 million, meeting the threshold to join a government pilot program for licensed crypto trading under Resolution 05/2025.
- Vietnam’s new Digital Technology Industry Law and stricter anti-money laundering rules aim to shift crypto activity onshore, repair the country’s financial reputation and attract compliant global players like OKX and HashKey.
The funding will bring CAEX’s capital base to VND 10 trillion — roughly $380 million — the minimum needed to enter a government pilot program for regulated crypto trading under Resolution 05/2025.
The deal lands as Vietnam’s Digital Technology Industry Law, which took effect in January, formally recognized crypto assets and laid the legal groundwork for licensing, oversight, and industry incentives. Now regulators are pushing to shift activity onshore through a pilot program expected to grant licenses to a handful of domestic exchanges, part of a broader effort to restrict offshore trading and tighten control over capital flows.
That combination — legal recognition paired with controlled market access — has triggered a race among local financial institutions and global crypto firms to lock in early positioning. Vietnamese users moved an estimated $200 billion in digital assets in the year through mid-2025, placing the country among the top crypto-adoption markets globally.
