As Vietnam continues implementing its new regulatory framework for the domestic crypto-asset market, BitcoinVN has concluded its role as an operator of Bitcoin ATMs in the country, effective 1 September 2026.
BitcoinVN launched Vietnam’s first Bitcoin exchange in 2014 and installed the country’s first Bitcoin ATM – also commonly referred to as a BTM – in Ho Chi Minh City in 2016. Over the following decade, the operation expanded into a small network of machines across several locations.
The withdrawal follows the transition framework announced in July 2026. Under this framework, BitcoinVN is gradually reducing its exposure to Vietnam-facing crypto-asset services as the country moves towards a formally licensed domestic market.
During the transition, individual machines may remain physically in place and accessible at their existing locations. BitcoinVN markings may also remain visible temporarily while branding and operating arrangements are updated. Their continued presence should not, however, be understood as continued operation of the machines by BitcoinVN.
The decision reflects the conclusion that the current market and regulatory environment no longer supports the continued commercial operation of a domestic BTM network under the BitcoinVN brand.
BitcoinVN has also taken broader steps to reduce its exposure to the domestic market. New account registrations for Vietnamese citizens were discontinued several weeks ago.
The BitcoinVN name will remain represented in Vietnam primarily through BitcoinVN Shop, which provides authentic hardware wallets and other security devices intended to help customers protect their digital assets against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
BitcoinVN’s instant-swap service continues to operate internationally for eligible users. The present transition concerns BitcoinVN’s domestic BTM operations and should not be understood as a closure of its global exchange service.
The launch of Vietnam’s first Bitcoin ATM in 2016 marked an important chapter in the development of the country’s early Bitcoin infrastructure. BitcoinVN is grateful to the location partners, customers and team members who helped sustain the network over the past decade.
Further information concerning individual machines and their future availability will be communicated as the transition progresses.
A future for Bitcoin ATM’s in Vietnam?
BitcoinVN intends to make the transition as smooth as reasonably possible for the network’s small but established user base.
The team has reached a preliminary understanding with a separate prospective operating entity regarding the possible continuation of the machines under a new operating framework.
The prospective operator is working towards a modern operating model designed to align with Vietnam’s evolving regulatory environment. It is also examining whether the project could eventually be accommodated within an appropriate regulatory sandbox or similar framework for financial innovation in Vietnam.
These discussions remain preliminary. No final transfer, regulatory approval or participation in a regulatory sandbox has been concluded at this stage.
Any future model is expected to place greater emphasis on stablecoin use and would require corresponding technological and operational adjustments. BitcoinVN nevertheless hopes to continue providing technical knowledge and advisory support so that access for Bitcoin users can also be preserved where reasonably possible.
While the transition remains incomplete, individual machines are expected to remain physically in place and may continue to be accessible on a limited test and development basis. Their availability may be adjusted, suspended or withdrawn as the transition and regulatory environment develop.
BitcoinVN markings may also remain visible temporarily while branding and operating arrangements are updated. Their continued presence should not be understood as continued commercial operation of the machines by BitcoinVN.
BitcoinVN will not commercially market the machines during this interim period. Its remaining involvement will be limited to technical support and advisory assistance while operating responsibility is transitioned.
Gustav I: Built in Vietnam
The machines currently deployed in Vietnam are based on Gustav I, a BTM platform developed entirely in-house by BitcoinVN’s engineering team over the past seven years.
Built in Vietnam, the project required considerably more time, capital and sacrifice than originally anticipated. The often-repeated maxim that “hardware is hard” proved very real to the team.
Building a software product would undoubtedly have been easier – and, at least so far, more profitable. The Gustav I project has not yet generated sufficient returns to recoup the capital expenditure and R&D costs accumulated over its years of development. Anyone entering the hardware business should therefore do so with a certain – preferably wide – tolerance for suffering.
Even so, years of engineering, deployment and real-world testing have produced a robust technical foundation that the team believes will be ready to compete internationally by 2027. We certainly hope that the years invested in building the product will not go to waste, but will ultimately be rewarded through successful entry into international markets.
Vietnam’s domestic BTM market was never expected to be the project’s primary commercial opportunity. Demand and use cases among local users remain limited due to the wide availability of seamless cashless and e-banking alternatives. Much of the network’s actual usage has historically come from international visitors who lack access to the same local banking tools available to domestic users.
The broader objective was therefore to cultivate homegrown engineering expertise and develop a Vietnam-built product capable of serving international markets.
The Gustav I team combines Swedish and Vietnamese engineering talent with financial-market and operational experience gained by senior team members across the financial centres of Chicago, Frankfurt and Ho Chi Minh City.
We remain hopeful that the expertise developed through Gustav I can continue serving Vietnam in one form or another – within a compliant framework that takes data security and fraud prevention seriously.
With more than a decade of experience operating crypto-asset market and technology infrastructure in Vietnam, the wider team stands ready to contribute its expertise and product knowledge wherever these may benefit the continued development and modernisation of the country’s financial and technological infrastructure.
This includes developing local talent and building stronger connections with international peers in established financial centres. Frankfurt am Main, in particular, has played a special role in BitcoinVN’s origin story and remains a natural bridge between the team’s Vietnamese foundations and its international network.
The longer-term ambition is to build a globally competitive digital-asset technology provider from Vietnam and contribute to the wider vision of transforming our home city, Ho Chi Minh City, into a modern regional financial and technology hub supported by live, locally developed infrastructure.
