Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has put forward a proposal that would let small and medium-sized enterprises pledge digital assets — including cryptocurrency — as collateral for bank loans. The plan, announced this week, is the government's latest attempt to unlock capital for a sector that faces a roughly $24 billion credit shortfall.
The credit gap the proposal aims to close
SMEs make up about 97% of Vietnam's businesses but often get shut out of traditional lending. Banks demand physical collateral — land, buildings, equipment — that many young or tech-focused firms simply don't have. The ministry's proposal directly targets that bottleneck by allowing digital assets, which many startups already hold, to stand in for hard collateral.
The $24 billion figure comes from official estimates of unmet credit demand among Vietnamese SMEs. That's a big chunk of an economy that relies on small firms for nearly half its GDP.
What the proposal says — and doesn't say
The text, published by the ministry on May 28, is short on specifics. It doesn't name which digital assets would qualify, how they'd be valued, or what custody requirements would apply. That vagueness is common at this stage — Hanoi often releases broad policy frameworks before filling in the technical rules.
What is clear: the plan treats crypto as a legitimate financial instrument, at least for this purpose. That's a shift for a country that has sent mixed signals on digital assets. Vietnam banned crypto payments in 2018, but has never outlawed holding or trading them.
What happens next
The proposal is now open for public comment, with a 30-day window closing June 27. After that, the Ministry of Finance will revise the draft and submit it to the National Assembly for approval. No timeline for a vote has been set.
If it passes, Vietnam would join a small but growing list of countries — including Switzerland and Singapore — where banks can accept crypto as collateral. For now, the lenders themselves are watching quietly. Most haven't commented publicly on how they'd handle the risk or the compliance burden.
