OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital have agreed to invest in Vietnam Prosperity Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company, joining as strategic partners to help the exchange meet a VND10 trillion ($380 million) minimum capital requirement for Vietnam’s new regulated crypto trading pilot. The deal, announced April 10, positions CAEX among the first exchanges seeking a license under the country’s first formal digital asset regulatory framework.
Key Facts At A Glance
- CAEX announced the investment agreements on April 10, 2026
- OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital join founding shareholders VPBankS and LynkiD as strategic partners
- Combined capital contribution targeted for completion in April 2026 to meet the VND10 trillion (~$380 million) minimum requirement
- Vietnam’s pilot framework is established under Government Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP, signed September 9, 2025
- The Law on Digital Technology Industry, passed June 2025, took effect January 1, 2026, formally recognizing digital assets as property
- The pilot allows a maximum of five licensed exchanges to operate under the Ministry of Finance
- Foreign ownership in licensed exchanges is capped at 49%; at least 65% of capital must come from qualifying Vietnamese institutions
- Vietnam was added to the FATF grey list in June 2023, citing weak anti-money laundering controls over virtual assets
- Vietnam ranked 4th in the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index; annual crypto transaction volumes exceed $100 billion
A New Regulatory Architecture
Vietnam’s approach to digital assets shifted from effective prohibition to a structured framework in two legislative steps. The National Assembly passed the Law on Digital Technology Industry in June 2025, which for the first time formally recognized crypto assets as property under the Civil Code, allowing them to be owned, transferred, inherited, and protected under civil law. The law took effect on January 1, 2026.
The operational framework came through Government Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc on September 9, 2025. The resolution establishes a five-year pilot program under which the Ministry of Finance may license a maximum of five domestic crypto asset service providers. To qualify, an exchange must meet a minimum charter capital of VND10 trillion, with at least 65% held by qualifying Vietnamese institutional investors, including banks, securities firms, insurance companies, technology firms, or fund managers. Foreign ownership is capped at 49%. Exchanges must also meet Level 4 IT security standards, Vietnam’s highest classification, maintain segregated client asset accounts, and satisfy detailed staffing and governance requirements.
The CAEX Structure And The April Capital Round
CAEX was incorporated in September 2025 with initial charter capital of VND25 billion. Its founding shareholders are VPBank Securities (VPBankS), the securities arm of Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank, which provides financial governance and investment oversight, and LynkiD, a technology company within the VPBank ecosystem responsible for digital identity systems and core platform infrastructure.
Under the agreements announced on April 10, OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital will contribute capital alongside existing shareholders in April 2026 to bring CAEX’s total charter capital to the VND10 trillion threshold required to apply for a pilot program license. Beyond the capital injection, both firms are committed to collaboration with CAEX on technical infrastructure, security systems, compliance frameworks, risk management, and liquidity connectivity, subject to Vietnamese regulatory requirements.
OKX Ventures is the investment arm of OKX, a global crypto exchange and Web3 technology company with more than 120 million users. HashKey Capital is an Asia-based digital asset investment firm; the fund involved in the CAEX transaction is HashKey Fintech Investment Fund III, focused on digital assets, fintech, and related infrastructure.
The Regulatory And Reputational Calculus
Vietnam’s inclusion on the Financial Action Task Force grey list in June 2023, attributed in part to weak controls over virtual asset service providers, has been a principal driver of the regulatory acceleration. The framework under Resolution 05 is explicitly designed to bring Vietnam’s crypto market into alignment with FATF Recommendation 15, which governs virtual assets and service providers, and to support Hanoi’s ongoing effort to exit the grey list designation.
The domestic context is substantial. Vietnam consistently ranks among the world’s highest crypto adoption markets, placing 4th in the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index. An estimated 20 million Vietnamese adults hold or have held digital assets, and annual blockchain transaction volumes routed through the country have exceeded $100 billion. Almost all of this activity currently flows through offshore, unregulated platforms. The pilot program is structured to redirect that activity into a licensed domestic environment over a six-month transition period following the first license issuance, after which domestic investors trading through unlicensed platforms face potential administrative or criminal sanctions.
Strategic Entry For Global Players
For OKX and HashKey, the CAEX investment represents an early-mover position in a tightly licensed market. With a maximum of five licenses available and substantial capital and governance barriers, the eventual pool of licensed operators is expected to be small. The 49% foreign ownership cap requires international investors to operate through domestic partnerships rather than independently, making CAEX’s VPBank-anchored structure a functional model for compliant market access.
OKX Global Markets Vice President Netero Dai cited Vietnam’s combination of high user adoption and a clear regulatory trajectory as central to the firm’s decision. HashKey Exchange BG CEO Haiyang Ru pointed to the market’s compliance orientation and long-term potential across Asia as drivers for the partnership.