What is Asia-Pacific talking about when America talks about encryption structures
By Chloe, Challenger
As the eyes of the world stare at the US drive for Clarity Act, the new financial and market configuration is actually moving quietly in Asia and the Pacific。
The Asia-Pacific region, with 60 per cent of the world's population, a young structure, a high prevalence of smartphones and fear of French currency inflation, has made Asia-Pacific the most fertile soil for encrypted money. Japan is robust in compliance, Korea is a speculative casino, Singapore is an institutional safe haven, and now the Asia-Pacific encryption map is probably going up and down。
Macrodata: Why Asia and the Pacific is the world centre
According to Bigo 2026's latest report, in 2026, the world's owners of encrypted money surpassed 700 million people, with an estimated 40 to 70 million active currency users per month. This is about 10 million more than last year。
In contrast, seven of the top 10 encrypted currencies are in the Asia-Pacific region, showing their potential and development in terms of both the volume of users and their actual use。
In addition, according to Chainalysis, Global Index of Encrypted Currency Use 2025, India is the first country to be followed by the United States, Pakistan, Viet Nam and Brazil, with the top 10 Asia-Pacific countries accounting for five seats for India, Pakistan, Viet Nam, Indonesia and the Philippines。
IN TERMS OF KINETIC ENERGY GROWTH, THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION ' S CHAIN OF TRANSACTIONS SURGED FROM US$ 1.4 TRILLION TO US$ 2.36 TRILLION IN THE 12-MONTH PERIOD UP TO JUNE 2025, REPRESENTING 69 PER CENT GROWTH OVER THE SAME PERIOD, THE FASTEST-GROWING REGION IN THE WORLD, COMPARED TO 27 PER CENT IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, REPRESENTING A DIRECT DOUBLING OF THE RATE WITHIN A YEAR. IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN NORTH AMERICA USES ETF AND INSTITUTIONAL ENTRY TO DRIVE “COMPLIANCE” GROWTH, ASIA AND THE PACIFIC PULLS “USE” GROWTH ON REAL BULK TRADING, CROSS-BORDER REMITTANCES AND STABLE CURRENCY DEMAND。
The two growth curves are of a very different nature, the former being the move of stock funds and the latter the influx of incremental users。
Viet Nam: national team experiment from grey market to closed platform
Over the past decade, Viet Nam has one of the highest rates of encryption worldwide, but also the least regulated. According to Chainalysis, Viet Nam ' s global encryption rate was at the top of the list for two consecutive years in 2021 and 2022, with more than 20 per cent (about 17 million people) of the Vietnamese population holding digital assets. However, this vast market has long operated outside the legal framework, with people trading P2Ps through overseas exchanges such as coins, OKX and so on, and the State is unable to tax or prevent money-laundering。
This situation began to flip in the second half of 2025. On June 14, 2025, the Viet Nam National Assembly adopted the Law on the Digital Technology Industry, which became the first country in the world to enact a special law on the digital technology industry, which entered into force on January 1, 2026. For the first time at the legal level, the bill distinguishes digital assets into two categories: “virtual assets” and “encrypted assets” and requires that the activities of encrypted assets comply with cybersecurity and anti-money-laundering norms。
IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER, ON 9 SEPTEMBER, THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT ISSUED RESOLUTION 05/225/NQ-CP TO LAUNCH A FIVE-YEAR PILOT PROGRAMME ON ENCRYPTED CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS. BUT THE THRESHOLD FOR THIS PILOT IS VERY HIGH: THE MINIMUM REGISTERED CAPITAL OF AN ENTERPRISE MUST BE 10 TRILLION VIETNAMESE GUILDERS, THREE TIMES THE MINIMUM REGISTERED CAPITAL OF A COMMERCIAL BANK, AND ALL CIRCULATION, TRADING AND SETTLEMENT OF ENCRYPTED CURRENCY MUST BE CONDUCTED USING VIETNAMESE GUILDERS, AND SHAREHOLDERS MUST BE PROFITABLE FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS BEFORE APPLYING。
The core logic of the system is closed platform: All risks and funds are locked in the country while opening up. Currently, domestic operators such as TCEX, VIXEX under Techcombank, VIX securities, DNEX under HVA, and Dunamu, the parent company of the largest Korean exchange, Upbit, have signed with MB Bank under Viet Nam's Ministry of Defence to export the Korean exchange model and technology and build the first national digital asset exchange。
IN MARCH 2026, WHEN THE MARKET INTRODUCED A CHANGE IN POLICY, THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF VIET NAM, IN ITS INTERNAL DOCUMENTS, INDICATED THAT THE AUTHORITIES PLANNED TO PROHIBIT CITIZENS FROM TRADING IN DIGITAL ASSETS ON FOREIGN PLATFORMS SUCH AS MONEY ANN, OKX AND REQUIRED ALL ACTIVITIES TO BE DIRECTED TO AN OFFICIALLY REGULATED DOMESTIC SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT EMPTY, BUT PERHAPS BEHIND IT IS A NATIONAL PROJECT WITH A CLEAR TIMETABLE, WHICH, ACCORDING TO RECENT REPORTS, THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE OF VIET NAM HAS INDICATED THAT THE COUNTRY MAY OFFICIALLY LAUNCH AN ENCRYPTED ASSET MARKET IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2026。
In other words, from legislation to pilot to online, Viet Nam has given the market a transition period of less than 18 months。
The system of closures was necessitated by the alarming pressures of financial outflows. As of June 2025, the volume of digital assets in Viet Nam had exceeded US$ 200 billion in one year, and the authorities considered uncontrolled transactions of encrypted and stable currency to be the main conduit for capital outflows. Accompanying measures are equally strong: individual investors pay 0.1 per cent of their income tax and institutional profits face 20 per cent of their corporate tax, and accounting standards require that the exchange completely separate its customer assets from the Platform’s own assets。
In short, Viet Nam's strategy is to “nationalize” the world's fourth largest encryption market with the strictest compliance threshold. A market with an annual turnover of more than $80 billion and users of more than 20 million is moving towards centralized regulation. For these local financial groups, Techcombank and VPPBank, this is their licensed dividend, but for the international community, which has long regarded Viet Nam as an important incremental market in South-East Asia, this could be the largest regional retreat in China after the 2017 ban。
Taiwan depends on the competitiveness of the compliance industry
If Viet Nam is the representative of the Easter, Taiwan is another microcosm of the Asia-Pacific compliance process, with a very different rhythm from Viet Nam. Taiwan follows a traditional financial route of “progressive regulation”。
IV. The regulatory path from money-laundering prevention to authoritarian legislation
ACCORDING TO TAIWAN ' S REGULATORY PLANS, THE VIRTUAL CURRENCY INDUSTRY IS REGULATED IN FOUR MAIN STAGES: THE FIRST PHASE WAS THE ISSUANCE OF THE VASP SCHEME, THE SECOND STAGE WAS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRADE ASSOCIATION, THE THIRD STAGE WAS THE UPDATING OF THE VASP REGISTRATION SYSTEM IN THE MONEY LAUNDERING PREVENTION ACT, AND THE FOURTH STAGE WAS THE PROMOTION OF EXTRA-LEGAL LEGISLATION, THE FIRST THREE PHASES HAD BEEN LANDED AND THE FOURTH PHASE WAS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSIDERATION。
VASP REGISTRATION TO THE BIG REGULATORY ERA
On 30 November 2024, article 6 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act was amended and VASP was officially changed from “declaration” to “registration”. A person who fails to complete the registration of the money-laundering prevention system may not provide virtual asset services, in violation of which a maximum of two years ' imprisonment and a fine of $5 million is imposed. At the end of September 2025, the deadline for the completion of the registration of former manufacturers was set, with a total of 8 businesses completing the registration of the Money Laundering Control System, currently operating legally, including local exchanges such as MaiCoin/MAX, BitoPro, XREEX, HOYA BIT, TWEX, Chainss, KryptoGO, Zone Wallet。
On 25 March 2025, Taiwan ' s regulatory authorities officially forecast the draft Virtual Asset Services Act. According to the draft, a person who issues a stable currency without authorization is liable to imprisonment for up to seven years and a fine of up to 100 million yuan in Zhong Zhong Zing; the penalty is increased to between three and 10 years and a fine of up to 200 million yuan in cases of unfair conduct such as market manipulation or fraud。
It can be said that Taiwan's virtual asset monopoly will follow the “high-regulated” model of a type of financial institution, with strict standards for the amount of capital, internal auditing and financial structure of the operator。
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS GIVE PRIORITY AND DO NOT LEAVE THE COUNTRY
In addition, the Taiwan model has two key designs that deserve comparison with Vietnam. The first is the principle of the “financial institution priority” for the issuance of stable currency, which does not restrict the issuance of stable currency to banks, but the risk management is initially dominated by financial institutions or financiers with more capital and control capabilities, and the issuer is required to issue and foreclose the stable currency in a nominal amount, not to refuse the holder's request for redemption, and to prohibit the granting of interest or earnings on the issued stable currency. This structure is essentially a mixture of the MiCA and the Japanese Payment Services Act, which means that the new Taiwan dollar stability currency will be bank-led, not encrypted original teams。
THE SECOND IS THE “NO-GO” POSITION FOR OFFSHORE EXCHANGES. THAT IS, WHILE REFERRING TO REGIONAL NORMS, THE BILL RETAINS TAIWAN ' S OWN SPACE FOR ADJUSTMENT, ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO ISSUES SUCH AS THE SUB-PLATFORM OF THE OFFSHORE PLATFORM APP, WHICH IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE DRAFT, CONSIDERING ISSUES SUCH AS THE SPONTANEOUS USE OF USERS AND THE OPERATION OF TECHNOLOGY。
This is in stark contrast to Viet Nam. Viet Nam chooses an encrypted lockout, while Taiwan “strengthens its territory and reserves it abroad”. The former is dependent on the enforcement capacity of the national team, while the latter is dependent on the competitiveness of compliance practitioners。
ON THE OTHER HAND, ACCORDING TO THE DATA, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VASP OPERATORS IN TAIWAN, WHO ACCUMULATED 17 BETWEEN 2023 AND 2025, HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS MISSING AND, TO DATE, 11 HAVE BEEN FINED TOTALLING MORE THAN $13 MILLION. IN OTHER WORDS, THE EIGHT BUSINESSES THAT ARE NOW ABLE TO MEET THE COMPLIANCE THRESHOLD AND HAVE COMPLETED THEIR REGISTRATION WILL ENJOY A RELATIVELY CLOSED LICENSE DIVIDEND IN THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS, BUT WILL ALSO HAVE TO BEAR COMPLIANCE COSTS SEVERAL TIMES HIGHER THAN IN THE PAST。
Asia-Pacific Differential Chess Game: Japan and Korea are on their own
Viet Nam and Taiwan are just two extremes, and the entire Asia-Pacific region is actually playing a different regulatory game。
Korea: The Invisible King of the Stable Currency Trading Pool
Korea continues its “specious casinos”. The Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which came into force in 2024, is reshaping the activities of large local exchanges, and the amount of the Korean Won ' s purchases of stable coins reached $64 billion in 12 months up to June 2025, indicating a strong demand by traders for liquidity, risk avoidance and rapid asset rotation。
Local exchanges, such as Upbit and Bitumb, have so far dominated the deepest KRW stabilization pool in the world, and the next step being discussed in Seoul is to establish a regulatory framework for KRW anchoring the stabilization currency。
Japan: tax reform and untiement of the secure market for years waking up
Japan played a robust compliance role, but there was a structural slowdown since 2025. According to the Encrypted Currency Geography Report 2025, Japan had the strongest growth in the top five markets in Asia and the Pacific, with a 120 per cent increase in the value of transactions in the chain over the 12 months ending in June 2025, exceeding Indonesia (103 per cent), Korea (100 per cent), India (99 per cent) and Viet Nam (55 per cent), backed by tax reforms, and policies such as the issuance of licences by the first Japanese currency stabilizer。
Japan has long been considered a compliance ceiling in Asia and the Pacific, and this rebound means that excessive regulation is being moderately loosed。
Singapore, Hong Kong: Twin Cities in the Agency's safe haven Remember
SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG CONTINUE TO PLAY THE ROLE OF “INSTITUTIONAL SAFE HAVEN”, WHICH ATTRACTS INSTITUTIONS THROUGH THE MAS LICENSING SYSTEM, AND REPOSITIONING OFFSHORE FINANCIAL CENTRES THROUGH THE SFC VIRTUAL ASSET SERVICE PROVIDER LICENSING SYSTEM AND THE SPOT ETF。
In addition, last month the Hong Kong Finance Authority officially issued the first two issuer licences for the sale of sedentary coins, namely, Pioneer Finance Technology Ltd. and Hong Kong ' s Shanghai HSBC Bank Ltd., as an important step towards virtual asset control in Hong Kong。
According to an analysis in the Jordan Financial Review, Hong Kong issued its first stabilization currency licence to redefine its position in the Hong Kong financial system. It is moving from the auxiliary tools of encrypted transactions to the bottom-up facilities of cross-border payments, local payments, tokenized asset transactions and programmable finance。
“This signal can also be seen from the first holders. In Hong Kong, Hong Kong telecommunications and Animoca Brands, HSBC was among the first to be licensed. This means that Hong Kong's stabilization currency pilot is not just a system of compliance with encrypted primary projects, but a system of integration of bank credit, payment entry and chain capabilities.”
Conclusion: Compliance premium, being redefined in Asia and the Pacific
Now, when the United States talks about Clarity Act, what is Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific talks about transforming the “use dividend” accumulated over the past decade into a “system dividend”. Viet Nam uses national team circles, Taiwan upgrades by ad hoc laws, Korea remodels transactions with user protection laws, and Japan uses taxes to re-enter loose institutions. Each region has different routes, but the direction is the same: to structure grey areas, to institutionalize dispersed activities and to track capital flows。
For global exchanges, this means that a competitive dimension that did not exist in the past is emerging: the value of regional compliance licences may be more important than global brands. The same compliance licence moved to Viet Nam or Taiwan, possibly the only pass to enter a multimillion-grade user market。
In other words, the next wave of excess premiums in the encryption industry is no longer an “extralegal dividend”, but a “compliance scarcity”, which is now concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region; the east, west, and west is not necessarily a move of market value, but is likely to be the distribution of compliance dividends。
