SAMA Crypto Rules: What You Need to Know About Vietnam's Strict Crypto Regulations

When people talk about SAMA crypto rules, a common misunderstanding that confuses Saudi Arabia’s SAMA with Vietnam’s crypto laws. Also known as Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, it has nothing to do with cryptocurrency policy in Vietnam. The real player is Directive 05/CT-TTg, Vietnam’s 2025 crypto framework that demands $379 million in capital just to operate an exchange. This isn’t a suggestion—it’s a legal wall. If you’re trading crypto in Vietnam, you’re either breaking the law or working through one of the five licensed platforms, none of which have actually been approved yet.

Under Vietnam crypto regulation, a system that treats crypto as a commodity, not legal tender, you can’t use Bitcoin to buy coffee, you can’t trade stablecoins like USDT, and you can’t move money in or out without hitting a legal dead end. The State Bank of Vietnam, the only authority allowed to oversee digital assets has made it clear: no licenses have been granted, no exchanges are legal, and the penalties for violating the Foreign Exchange Act 1962, a 60-year-old law now used to jail crypto traders include triple fines and jail time. Yet, millions still trade. Why? Because the rules don’t match reality. People want access, and they’re finding ways—through peer-to-peer, offshore platforms, or underground networks.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t theory—it’s real-world fallout. From exchanges like LocalTrade that pretend to be legitimate to Metahero’s fake airdrops targeting Vietnamese users, every article exposes how these rules create chaos, not control. You’ll see how traders get scammed by fake KYC portals, how projects vanish overnight because they can’t meet capital requirements, and why even the most promising tokens like HERO or ABX have zero liquidity in-country. There’s no middle ground here: either you comply with impossible standards or you operate in the shadows. And right now, the shadows are where most of the action is.