Vietnam Ranks Second in ASEAN for 16.6M Holders and Boasts 200 Operating Blockchain Projects

By Tsunami On Mar 16, 2023

Coin98 Insights recently released a report on the state of the country’s blockchain market in 2022. According to the report, there are currently around 200 operational blockchain projects in Vietnam.

Vietnam has over 16.6 million cryptocurrency holders, making it the second-largest market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), following Thailand. Of these, 31% hold Bitcoin.

The operational blockchain projects are primarily focused on GameFi, DeFi, NFT, Web3, infrastructure, and wallets. Among these, Game and Metaverse projects make up the largest share at 28.8%. The rest are DeFi (26.0%), NFT (12.4%), infrastructure (11.3%), and Web3 (5.1%), among others.

Vietnamese companies have established seven of the top 200 blockchain companies globally. There are over ten companies with market capitalizations exceeding $100 million, indicating their global influence.

Three of these projects, Coin98, Axie Infinity, and Kyber Network, have had market capitalizations exceeding $1 billion at times. While their market capitalizations have been declining, as of the end of 2022, Axie Infinity’s market capitalization remains at a high level of $790 million, followed by Kyber Network ($87 million) and Coin98 ($36.4 million).

The report provides a comprehensive overview of the blockchain market in Vietnam, including insights into market trends, industry participants, and notable projects. It underscores the significant growth potential of the Vietnamese blockchain industry, which is expected to continue its rapid expansion in the coming years.

Vietnam Tops Chainalysis’ List for Grassroots Adoption of Cryptocurrency for Second Consecutive Year

According to the “Geography of Cryptocurrency” report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Vietnam is leading the world in grassroots adoption of cryptocurrency for the second year in a row. The report highlights Vietnam’s high purchasing power and population-adjusted adoption of centralized, decentralized finance (DeFi), and peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency tools.

A 2021 poll by Statista showed that 21% of Vietnamese reported owning cryptocurrencies, closely followed by the Philippines at 20%. The main drivers for adoption in both countries are play-to-earn gaming and remittances.

Chainalysis’ 2022 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report: Ranking the Top 10 Countries by Adoption

The ranking is once again dominated by countries categorized by the World Bank as “lower middle income,” including Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, and Thailand. These are typically economies with weak national currencies and low availability of cross-border currency services, leading users to rely on cryptocurrency for sending remittances, preserving savings during fiat currency volatility, and fulfilling other financial needs unique to their economies. The report emphasizes that cryptocurrency is becoming an increasingly important financial tool in these countries.