Bithumb enters Vietnam crypto license race with SSI Digital deal
South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is expanding its overseas push through a new partnership in Vietnam as the country moves toward licensing its first domestic digital asset trading platforms.
Bithumb said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SSI Digital (SSID), a subsidiary of Vietnam’s largest securities company, SSI Securities, to cooperate on establishing and operating a virtual asset exchange in the country.
The agreement, signed in Hanoi in March but announced Thursday, also leaves the door open for Bithumb to make a strategic equity investment in an SSID-designated entity, subject to Vietnam’s regulatory approvals.
The move positions Bithumb for Vietnam’s pilot program for licensed domestic digital asset trading platforms, creating a potential entry point into one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing crypto markets.
Vietnam’s tight crypto pilot race
Vietnam’s five-year crypto asset pilot, unveiled in September 2025, requires exchange operators to be Vietnamese entities with at least 10 trillion dong ($380 million), in charter capital and caps foreign ownership at 49%. Authorities are also drafting rules that could restrict trading on unlicensed overseas platforms.
Bithumb and Vietnam’s SSID Collaborate. Source: Bithumb
Competition for licenses is already intensifying. A Finance Ministry document cited by Reuters in March said five firms, including affiliates of private banks Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank, along with broker VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group, have already cleared an initial qualification round.
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One of the most advanced bids is VPBank-linked CAEX, which secured backing from OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital in April to help meet Vietnam’s minimum charter capital threshold for the pilot. Bithumb’s Vietnamese partner, SSI Securities, is one of the country’s largest brokers and set up SSI Digital Technology JSC to spearhead its push into digital assets in 2022. Vietnam was ranked fourth in global crypto adoption in 2025 by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.
According to Bithumb’s press statement, the company and SSID plan to collaborate across exchange technology, wallet and custody systems, security and risk management, regulatory support and institutional business development. No timeline has been given for a formal license application or final investment decision, and Vietnam has not yet approved any fully licensed crypto exchange under the pilot.
Cointelegraph reached out to Bithumb for comment but had not received a response by publication.
Korea headwinds raise stakes
The expansion plan comes as Bithumb faces heightened scrutiny in its home country following a high-profile payout error and a delayed listing timeline.
The exchange has pushed back its initial public offering (IPO) to sometime after 2028, with management saying it needs to strengthen accounting policies and internal controls after earlier regulatory sanctions.
In February, Bithumb mistakenly credited customers with 620,000 Bitcoin instead of 620,000 won during a promotional event, briefly creating more than $40 billion in notional balances and triggering sharp price swings on the platform. The firm says it recovered 99.7% of the funds and is now pursuing legal action to reclaim the remaining 7 BTC.
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