South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SSI Digital (SSID), a subsidiary of Vietnam’s largest securities firm SSI Securities, to jointly develop and operate a licensed virtual asset exchange in the country. The agreement was signed in Hanoi in March but formally announced this week, as competition for Vietnam’s scarce crypto exchange licences continues to intensify.
Under the terms of the MOU, Bithumb and SSID plan to collaborate across several areas including exchange technology, wallet and custody infrastructure, security and risk management, regulatory compliance, and institutional business development. The deal also leaves open the possibility of Bithumb making a strategic equity investment in an SSID-designated entity, subject to Vietnamese regulatory approvals. No timeline has been given for a formal licence application or a final investment commitment.
Vietnam’s crypto pilot, and why it matters
The partnership positions Bithumb to compete for a place in Vietnam’s five-year crypto asset pilot programme, which was unveiled in September 2025. The programme has strict entry requirements: exchange operators must be Vietnamese-incorporated entities with a minimum charter capital of at least 10 trillion dong, approximately $380 million, and foreign ownership is capped at 49%. Authorities are also reportedly drafting additional rules that could restrict Vietnamese users from trading on unlicensed overseas platforms, raising the stakes considerably for foreign firms seeking local footholds.
Vietnam is not a small prize. The country was ranked fourth globally for crypto adoption in 2025 by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis, reflecting deep grassroots engagement with digital assets despite the absence of formal regulatory infrastructure until now.
Competition for the limited licences is already well underway. 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, according to a Vietnamese finance ministry document cited by Reuters in March. One of the most advanced bids comes from VPBank-linked CAEX, which secured investment backing from OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital in April to help meet the minimum capital requirements.
SSI Securities, Bithumb’s chosen local partner, is one of Vietnam’s most prominent brokerage houses and established SSI Digital Technology JSC in 2022 specifically to pursue digital asset opportunities, giving the Bithumb partnership a credible and well-resourced base from which to operate.
Domestic pressures add urgency to overseas push
The Vietnam move comes at a sensitive time for Bithumb domestically. The Bithumb exchange has faced heightened regulatory scrutiny in South Korea following a significant operational error earlier this year, in which it mistakenly credited customers with 620,000 Bitcoin, instead of the intended 620,000 won, during a promotional event. The error briefly created more than $40 billion in notional balances and triggered sharp price swings on the platform. Bithumb says it has since recovered 99.7% of the funds and is pursuing legal action to reclaim the remaining shortfall of approximately 7 BTC.
The exchange has also pushed back its planned initial public offering to sometime after 2028, with management citing the need to strengthen internal accounting controls and compliance processes following earlier regulatory sanctions.
Against that backdrop, Bithumb’s Vietnam play looks as much like a strategic pivot as it does a growth move, using international expansion to build credibility and revenue outside of a difficult home market environment. Whether it can secure one of Vietnam’s tightly held pilot licences, however, remains far from certain.
