Vietnam’s Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang met with Bybit CEO Ben Zhou on April 17 at the Ministry’s headquarters to discuss potential cooperation in the digital asset space.
The meeting marked a significant step forward in fostering cooperation to build a legal framework for digital assets. It also advanced the plan to establish Vietnam’s first virtual asset exchange.
Bybit and Vietnam Explore Crypto Opportunities
According to the official portal of the Ministry of Finance, Ben Zhou, co-founder of Bybit, and his delegation met with leaders from various departments of the Ministry on the morning of April 17.
The Ministry reported that Zhou is currently exploring Vietnam’s digital asset market and expressed his desire to cooperate with and invest in the country.
Minister Nguyen Van Thang Met With Mr. Ben Zhou. Source: Vietnam Government Online Newspaper
During the meeting, Zhou also addressed a recent security breach, in which Bybit lost approximately $1.5 billion due to a hack. However, he emphasized that all investors on the platform were fully reimbursed.
The CEO said the incident did not affect users or cause any major disruption. This outcome, according to Zhou, was possible due to Bybit’s transparency and uninterrupted withdrawal services. He noted that user assets on Bybit are backed on a 1:1 basis.
Meanwhile, Minister Nguyen Van Thang appreciated Bybit’s cooperative intentions. He acknowledged the rapid global growth of blockchain technology and digital assets, including in Vietnam, where the market is expanding quickly and shows great potential.
The Minister also highlighted Vietnam’s efforts to submit a pilot resolution to the government. This resolution aims to establish a regulated exchange for digital assets in Vietnam. The Ministry welcomed Bybit’s proposal to support training, operational process development, risk control, and legal framework design in the country.
“The Ministry of Finance highly appreciates Bybit’s goodwill in proposing cooperation and support in areas such as training, developing risk control systems, building operational procedures for exchanges, and establishing a legal framework. These are all critical issues that require serious attention and thorough implementation,” Minister Thang stated during the meeting.
In addition to his meeting with the Ministry of Finance, Ben Zhou met privately with Nguyen Duy Hung, CEO of SSI Securities Corporation. They discussed the future of finance and digital assets. SSI is one of the oldest securities firms operating in Vietnam’s stock market.
Recently, SSI partnered with Tether and KuCoin to promote blockchain startups in Vietnam. The company also announced the launch of SSI Digital Ventures, an investment arm with an initial capital of $200 million. This fund may grow to $500 million as SSI continues collaborating with more partners to support blockchain startups in Vietnam.
“Different generations, different journeys — I’ve spent my life in traditional finance, while Ben is one of the pioneers shaping the world of crypto. Tonight, we sat down at my home and shared stories about the future of finance — where tradition and innovation meet to create lasting value,” Nguyen Duy Hung said.
Vietnam Races to Build Legal Framework for Crypto
The Vietnamese government is currently accelerating efforts to regulate digital assets.
In January 2025, the Prime Minister instructed officials to classify different types of digital assets. The government also proposed piloting digital asset exchanges in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. The goal is to create a transparent trading environment, reduce investor risk, and prevent illegal activities such as money laundering.
Additionally, General Secretary To Lam officially assigned One Mount Group to develop a Layer 1 blockchain network, “Make in Vietnam,” with an investment of up to $500 million.
The meetings between Bybit, the Ministry of Finance, and SSI represent a rare moment of engagement between the Vietnamese government and a major crypto company. This comes at a time when crypto trading still operates in a legal gray area.
According to Chainalysis, Vietnam ranked 5th globally in the 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index. The country now has over 17 million crypto asset holders, and blockchain-related capital flows reached more than $105 billion between 2023 and 2024.
