Author：吴说区块链
Edited by Wu Shuo Blockchain
This interview offers a firsthand look at the evolution of the Vietnamese crypto market from the perspective of Thanh Le, CEO of G98 and founder of Ninety Eight. Drawing on his personal experience since entering the industry in 2017, the interview explores how the Vietnamese crypto ecosystem has evolved from a high-risk, low-awareness phase to a more mature market with active users and a gradually developing regulatory framework. Ninety Eight started in Vietnam, building practical Web3 products including multi-chain wallets and DeFi tools. Through its joint venture G98 with the Vietnamese group G-Group, it adapts and deploys these technologies locally, leveraging local infrastructure to support the launch of digital asset-related products and services in the Vietnamese market.
The video and text content represent the views of the interviewees only and do not represent the views of Wu Shuo, nor do they constitute any investment or financial advice. The audio transcription was done by GPT and may contain errors. Please listen to the full podcast on platforms such as Xiaoyuzhou and YouTube.
From “Scam Narrative” to National Strategy: The Eight-Year Leap Forward in Vietnam’s Crypto Market
Ivan Wu: Today we are very honored to have Thanh Le, founder of Ninety Eight and CEO of G98, join us to discuss the evolution of the Vietnamese crypto market from a long-term, local perspective. Our first question today is: Thanh Le, what prompted you to enter the crypto industry? Public information shows that you entered the industry in 2017 — from your perspective, what are the most critical changes and turning points that the Vietnamese crypto market has experienced in the past 10 years?
Thanh Le: I think I'm actually quite lucky because I got involved in the Vietnamese crypto industry very early on. Of course, there are many people who got involved earlier and are more OG than me. But from 2017 to now, these nearly eight years have been a very important learning and growth process for me.
During this time, I witnessed firsthand the evolution of Vietnam's crypto industry and community. Initially, the market was rife with scams, cryptocurrencies were hardly considered an asset, and many believed Bitcoin was a fraud. However, over time, the world gradually began to view cryptocurrencies as a new asset class, and Bitcoin was increasingly recognized as "digital gold." Simultaneously, significant changes occurred within Vietnam. In the past year or two, the national attitude towards the crypto industry has shifted towards support, and the regulatory environment has seen substantial progress.
I believe 2025 will be a significant turning point. Policy documents like Resolution 05 have clearly signaled a future, more defined framework to support the development of the crypto industry. For me, witnessing the industry go from being misunderstood to a growing number of Vietnamese building products globally, and finally receiving formal national support in just eight years, has been a tremendous and invaluable experience.
High-engagement market profile: Vietnam's crypto user base, activity level, and entry paths
Wu Shuo Ivan: From a broader perspective, what is the overall size of the Vietnamese crypto market? Approximately how many users are there, what is the level of trading activity, and what is the level of crypto adoption in Vietnam? What is the current competitive landscape of exchanges in Vietnam?
Thanh Le: I don't have very precise figures at hand, but the overall situation is clear. Although the data provided by different research institutions differ, the general direction is basically the same.According to Chainalysis's report, Vietnam has consistently ranked among the top five countries in global cryptocurrency adoption over the past three years, making it one of the most active countries in holding and using crypto assets globally.Public data shows that Vietnam's cryptocurrency ownership rate has consistently remained above 20%, indicating a stable and genuine demand for this asset class among local users. Another study by Chainalysis also points out that approximately 20 million Vietnamese currently hold cryptocurrency, a scale that itself speaks to the market's activity level.
Looking at trading activity, data from exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Bybit consistently places Vietnam among the most active markets globally, particularly on centralized exchanges. This data aligns perfectly with my observations within the local community: a large number of retail users are continuously opening accounts and trading frequently, resulting in high community activity. Furthermore, the number of Vietnamese users utilizing DeFi protocols has increased significantly over the past three years. A notable change is the growing number of leading global blockchain projects establishing representatives and promoting educational activities in Vietnam, particularly in universities, to popularize blockchain technology.
Overall, from the perspectives of users, transactions, and builders, Vietnam's crypto ecosystem has continued to mature over the past few years and remains highly active, contributing a considerable user base and traffic to the industry.
Wu Shuo Ivan: From your perspective, the whole country is quite supportive of the crypto industry; in this context, where do Vietnamese users typically first enter the crypto world: exchanges, wallets, communities/KOLs, or are introduced by friends? What are their most typical use cases?
Thanh Le: In my view, different generations enter the crypto industry in different ways. For example, many of my generation initially encountered the crypto world through Bitcoin; some started with mining, while others simply held mainstream coins and gradually delved deeper into the field. There were also those who didn't directly buy coins but instead entered through online money-making businesses, such as accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for services, which became their entry point into the crypto industry. Looking at recent cycles, in 2021, a large number of users entered the crypto world through GameFi and DeFi, and in the last year or two, many more started paying attention to and participating because of meme coins.
However, regardless of how the mainstream narrative changes in each cycle, one thing remains constant: the spread of information in the crypto industry still relies heavily on word-of-mouth. Many people gradually learn about and enter this field through friends, KOLs they follow, or discussions in the community.
This also explains why, in Vietnam, most users initially start with centralized exchanges when using crypto products. Therefore, when the government pushes forward with relevant regulations, prioritizing the standardization of centralized exchanges seems like a very realistic and reasonable approach to me.
Wu Shuo Ivan: So, what is the user profile you observed in Vietnam? For example, age groups, risk preferences, speed of acceptance of new narratives, and whether they prefer CEX or on-chain computing. What are the characteristics of each?
Thanh Le: About four years ago, Vietnamese crypto users were generally more familiar with centralized exchanges. Introducing a new token to them often required that it be listed on a mainstream exchange they were already using and had funds deposited into; otherwise, users would have difficulty truly engaging with or understanding it. However, in recent years, I've clearly seen a change. More and more people are proactively learning how to use crypto products and understanding the logic behind DeFi and different protocols. They're no longer just "knowing how to use" them, but trying to leverage these tools to build their own investment strategies.
Overall, Vietnamese users remain a group with a high risk appetite, with many still preferring to seek high-risk, high-return opportunities rather than making only conservative investments. This is partly due to the previous lack of clear regulatory definition. In a prolonged high-risk environment, users with larger sums of money and higher compliance requirements often choose to wait and see, and have not entered the crypto market on a large scale.
As the new regulatory framework gradually takes effect, I believe the user structure entering the crypto market will become more diversified, with groups exhibiting different risk appetites. However, looking back at those who entered the industry in 2017 or even earlier, a significant portion of them remain high-risk seekers, only their overall understanding has clearly improved—they are no longer limited to exchange trading but have also begun to participate more in more complex crypto financial activities such as DeFi.
The regulatory logic of the new era of encryption: conservative and progressive support
Wu Shuo Ivan: Speaking of regulation, what is the current regulatory situation in Vietnam? Is the government's overall attitude more encouraging, prohibitive, or neutral? What are the key points to watch in the future?
Thanh Le: That's a very straightforward question.From my personal observation, the regulatory framework that Vietnam is currently promoting is "conservative on the whole, but clearly supportive in its direction."From a national strategic perspective, Vietnam has explicitly listed blockchain as one of the key technologies of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" and a core technology direction for key development between 2025 and 2030. This means that blockchain is considered an important area worthy of continuous investment in its long-term development plan.
Therefore, I believe the regulatory aim is not to suppress the industry, but rather to promote its gradual growth and wider application within the framework of compliance. However, because encryption and blockchain technologies are still relatively new, both the public and regulators are still developing their understanding of the risks. Therefore, in the initial stages, regulators have adopted a relatively cautious approach. Specifically, initially, only a limited number of licenses may be issued, and related services will be gradually opened up, such as starting with spot trading and requiring pricing in Vietnamese Dong (VND). Subsequently, regulators will gradually open up more businesses based on market conditions.
However, from the perspective of overall motivation, I believe the government's goal has always been clear: to develop blockchain into a strategically significant core technology to support and drive Vietnam's overall economic development. This has been consistently and clearly stated in official pronouncements.
New Cycle Projects and Ecosystem: Has the Vietnamese Market Become Silent Due to the Bear Market?
Wu Shuo Ivan: From the perspective of user preferences, what are the most popular projects/sectors among Vietnamese retail investors (BTC/ETH, various L1, memes, DeFi, GameFi, etc.)? What do you think are the reasons behind this preference (culture, channels, profit potential, product supply, or information dissemination methods)?
Thanh Le: From my observation, Vietnamese investors' strategies are continuously evolving. Currently, many are returning to Bitcoin and mainstream crypto assets. At the same time, Vietnamese users are also showing increasing interest in other "on-chain tokenized" assets, such as tokenized gold, silver, and some metals and commodities. More and more people are beginning to view these assets as more serious investment targets; compared to purely crypto-native projects, these assets are actually more intuitive to understand and accept.
However, even so, Vietnamese users as a whole remain highly open to new opportunities. A significant number of Vietnamese users participate in almost every new market trend and narrative. Whether it's meme coins, AI-related tokens, or other emerging narratives, there are always people in the Vietnamese market consistently following and participating in these changes.
Ivan Wu: I agree. We've also witnessed the integration of crypto and traditional finance in this cycle; however, Vietnam produced quite a few projects during the 2020–2022 cycle, especially GameFi; but in this cycle (2024 to present), we seem to hear very little about Vietnamese projects. Do you feel the same way? If so, what do you think are the reasons?
Thanh Le: I believe there are still quite a few Vietnamese projects actively developing in different sectors and blockchain ecosystems. I'm aware of this because Coin98 itself does venture capital-like work, investing in and supporting Vietnamese founders and their projects long-term. As for why there haven't been many truly successful Vietnamese projects in the past year or two, I think there are three main reasons.
First, there's the overall market environment. Since entering a bear market in 2022, the market has been sluggish for a long time, with almost no projects experiencing significant explosive growth. Under such circumstances, it's naturally difficult to see any project in a particular region stand out.
Secondly, this is not a problem unique to Vietnam, but a common phenomenon across the entire crypto industry. In the past year or two, more and more talent and attention have shifted to emerging technology fields such as AI, where companies have higher valuations and faster growth; in contrast, the crypto industry is still in a downward cycle, and its attractiveness has temporarily diminished.
Third, as the industry matures, entrepreneurs' need for a clear legal and regulatory framework has increased significantly. The recent regulatory policies introduced in Vietnam have, to some extent, provided more certainty and confidence for crypto entrepreneurs.
Because of these changes, I remain relatively optimistic about the future. I believe that as regulations become clearer, starting this year, Vietnam is expected to see more new crypto projects enter the market.
Wu Shuo Ivan: So, what is the current state of the developer ecosystem in Vietnam? What areas are developers mainly working on? In which cities are crypto startups mainly concentrated? What is the approximate size and maturity level of these teams?
Thanh Le: I believe that Vietnam has now developed a high-quality developer community, primarily focused on the EVM (Solidity) ecosystem and the Rust technology track. Rust developers, in particular, are more involved in the Solana ecosystem. Solana has grown very rapidly in Vietnam over the past two to three years, largely due to Superteam's long-term investment in the local market. They have consistently promoted developer community building, helping developers connect, find opportunities, and encourage the launch of new projects. These efforts have begun to show significant results in the last year or two.
On the one hand, Vietnam already has a certain user base for Solana; on the other hand, developers have gained more practical development opportunities within the Solana ecosystem. Considering metrics such as on-chain activity, revenue from leading applications, meme popularity, and user transaction behavior, Solana has become one of the most active ecosystems in Vietnam, gradually forming a relatively mature developer community. Meanwhile, Ethereum continues to support the technological accumulation of the EVM ecosystem. We can still see a stable and continuously expanding group of developers deeply involved in the Solidity and EVM systems.
Due to the limited number of locally developed projects in the past year or two, many Vietnamese developers have chosen to join overseas crypto companies to enhance their skills and participate in broader open-source protocol development. From this perspective, Vietnam is gradually becoming an important talent pool in the global crypto industry, and its developers are gaining increasing prominence in various technological trends.
Wu Shuo Ivan: What is the current level of interest from both local and overseas capital in Vietnamese projects? Was your fundraising process smooth?
Thanh Le: I do think we were fortunate to enter the market in 2021, and also fortunate to have the support of several large global investment institutions. One important reason was that at that time, we were already among the few projects in the region that had a product launched and been running stably for one to two years.
We've gone through the process of raising funds based on a white paper, then an MVP, and finally a mature product with existing users and usage data. This is a significant advantage compared to projects still in the conceptual stage, and it greatly helps with fundraising.
Secondly, there are market environment factors. The overall market was at a high level in 2021, making fundraising relatively easy. However, the prerequisite was that the team had already invested heavily for four consecutive years, which established a sufficient foundation of trust for investors.
Therefore, for us, this is the result of a combination of long-term investment, opportune timing, and a certain amount of luck. This logic does not only apply to the Vietnam project, but also to all projects.
The current difficulty in financing is not entirely due to project quality issues; the core reason lies in the market downturn.With a weakening market and pressure on venture capital firms, many investors have already suffered losses in other projects, leading to a significant decline in overall funding authorization and willingness to invest. Therefore, what we are seeing is not just a few individual projects struggling to raise funds, but rather a reduction in fund size and a more cautious investment pace across the entire region.This situation is not unique to Vietnam; at least in the Asian markets I have observed, the overall trend is basically the same.
Wu Shuo Ivan: One last question: What do you think are the core strengths and characteristics of Vietnam as a country, and of Vietnamese people in the crypto industry? I've noticed that Vietnamese people are frequently involved in the community operations of many projects—what do you think are the reasons behind this?
Thanh Le: I believe that the overall awareness of the Vietnamese crypto community will continue to improve, both in terms of education and users' understanding of project and industry mechanisms. After several years of real-world participation and practice, many people are quite familiar with these tools and mechanisms. To some extent, many have also begun to genuinely appreciate and enjoy the industry itself, and are therefore still willing to learn new technologies, pay attention to new projects, and continuously seek new investment opportunities. I don't think this trend will disappear in the short term, nor do I see any obvious reason for it to reverse.
At the trading level, the new regulatory framework will indeed bring about some changes. For example, in the future, asset transactions may need to be completed through regulated centralized exchanges, rather than operating freely on unregulated platforms as in the past, and the trading path itself will become more compliant.However, I don't believe this will dampen the interest of local participants, especially among developers and entrepreneurs. On the contrary, a clearer regulatory framework will significantly boost their confidence, allowing them to invest more confidently in building and developing products.
From a national perspective, I believe Vietnam is on the right track. The government is seriously exploring how to develop blockchain into a core technology driving future digital economic growth. Although many policy details still need to be refined, it is clear that the government is investing significant effort in this direction and has the determination to pursue it in the long term.
