Vietnam is targeting the third quarter for the first official trading activity under a five-year regulated cryptocurrency exchange pilot, as it seeks to address anti-money laundering concerns linked to its placement on the Financial Action Task Force grey list since June 2023. Five applicants, including Techcombank, VPBank, LPBank affiliates, VIX Securities and Sun Group, have passed preliminary review. Exchange licenses would require at least 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, or about $380 million, in paid-in registered capital, limit foreign ownership to 49% and allow trading priced only in Vietnamese dong. The Ministry of Finance is also drafting rules that would prohibit Vietnamese citizens from using overseas cryptocurrency platforms.