TL;DR: Developments in the digital asset space never stop, particularly at the state and legislative level, with governments and lawmakers continuing to juggle the dual impulses to both rein in and harness the $4 trillion sector. China and Oman combine forces on a multi-billion-dollar currency swap deal that includes deeper cooperation on CBDC, an area in which China has more experience than most. Meanwhile, in the regulatory sphere, Vietnam introduced stringent new rules in the face of record-breaking crypto hacks and the impending launch of its first domestic digital asset exchange, just as Ukraine edged closer to passing a comprehensive regulatory regime, despite the country’s central bank still needing to be convinced by the current draft.
Key Takeaways:
- China and Oman agreed on a five-year currency swap worth 30 billion yuan (about $4.49 billion), as well as signed an agreement to cooperate on digital payments and CBDC.
- Vietnam is tightening crypto oversight after the Binance hack, requiring exchanges to report tech incidents within 24 hours and submit custody data weekly.
- Ukraine’s crypto framework is moving forward, but the central bank says it won’t endorse it without changes.
China and Oman deepen financial cooperation
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the country’s central bank, has signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), including a commitment to strengthen cooperation on CBDC.
According to a November 3 government press release, the value of the agreement is 30 billion yuan (about US$4.49 billion), or 1.5 billion Omani rials. The agreement is valid for five years, and the two central banks also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation on digital payments and central bank digital currency (CBDC) during that time.
“The signing of the two agreements will help deepen monetary and financial cooperation between China and Oman, make cross-border digital payments more convenient, and maintain financial market stability,” said the PBoC.
China’s CBDC, the digital yuan, also known as the e-CNY, is considerably further advanced than Oman’s initiative. The PBoC began researching the digital currency in 2014, with pilot programs launched in 2019. Although it has yet to become a fully deployed nationwide retail CBDC, the project has expanded significantly, and by November 2025 the government had processed more than 3.4 billion transactions worth nearly 16.7 trillion yuan ($2.38 trillion).
In January of this year, China introduced a revised operating framework under which e-CNY balances held in commercial bank wallets would be treated as deposit liabilities, with interest payments and deposit insurance applying. More recently, the PBoC added eight banks to its list of authorized institutions for digital yuan operations, bringing the number of operating institutions for digital yuan business to 30.
Oman’s project, meanwhile, remains at an earlier stage. The CBO launched a study into CBDC design, regulatory requirements and cybersecurity in December 2023, after which it moved into pilot testing to explore potential use cases. In June 2026, the CBO sought an independent international assessor to evaluate the program’s feasibility, technical design, governance and implementation readiness, suggesting that work towards a potential deployment is ongoing.
The agreement between the two central banks comes amid growing interest in cross-border CBDC infrastructure, in the face of the United States’ dominance of digital currency, as evidenced by the ever-growing global stablecoin sector, which is currently valued at over $305 billion, around 99% of which is U.S. dollar-denominated.
For its part, China is a major participant in Project mBridge, a multi-CBDC platform involving several central banks in Asia and the Middle East. The platform has processed billions of dollars in transactions, with the digital yuan accounting for the overwhelming majority of its volume.
Closer cooperation with Oman could provide another avenue for exploring CBDC-enabled international trade and settlement, while the new agreement also signals growing alignment between the two nations on financial infrastructure and cross-border payments.
For the digital asset sector, it highlights continued momentum behind CBDCs and their potential role in international payments.
Just as China and Oman work toward closer coordination to boost CBDCs, Vietnam has been busy laying the groundwork for launching domestic crypto exchanges.
Vietnam issues new stringent rules for crypto in light of Binance attack
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has issued new regulations on reporting and information disclosure in the digital asset market, requiring exchanges to make daily reports and notify authorities of any technical incidents within 24 hours.
The “Circular No. 165/2026/TT-BTC” was issued on November 4, 2026, and will come into effect from December 18, with the aim of guiding the reporting and information disclosure regime for Vietnam’s pilot cryptocurrency market, a landmark five-year pilot program launched in September 2025 by Vietnam to regulate and formalize the country’s cryptocurrency and virtual assets market.
Based on the new regulation, digital asset exchanges operating in Vietnam must report to the State Securities Commission (SSC) within 24 hours of detecting an information technology incident affecting customer transactions. The report must describe the incident and the remediation plan, and act as a reporting obligation to the regulatory authority, not a public disclosure requirement.
Vietnam has one of the highest crypto adoption rates in the world, placing fourth on blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, behind only the U.S., India, and Pakistan. This is a market that the government has increasingly sought to support, and in March it launched its pilot program for local digital currency exchanges, as outlined in Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP.
However, the anticipated official launch of Vietnam’s first domestic digital asset exchange—emerging from this pilot at some point in the near future—was also part of the motivation for the tightening of regulation in the space.
Alongside the 24-hour deadline for reporting incidents were a host of other new requirements, highlights of which include digital asset exchanges having to notify the SSC before making any operational change that affect how customer assets are segregated or how holdings are split between hot and cold wallets; the introduction of extensive transparency, reporting and disclosure obligations for digital asset exchanges, bringing them closer to the standards expected of regulated securities markets; exchanges having to submit custody data to the SSC every Monday and file a consolidated client asset report every six months, to stop platforms from quietly commingling or moving customer funds; and senior executives and related parties must also pre-report personal crypto trades, addressing potential conflicts of interest.
The other major motivation for these notably stringent new mandates, according to a November 4 report from local outlet Báo Thanh niên—the official news organ of the Vietnam United Youth League—was “the world continuously experiencing major cyberattacks,” with the report citing the recent Binance attack and the security incident that resulted in approximately $49 million in stolen funds from Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin.
On the former, Vietnam’s new stringent regulatory requirements demonstrates the ongoing ripple effect of the record breaking October 29 hack on the world’s largest crypto exchange, after suspected North Korean attackers drained an estimated $6.3 billion from Binance’s online wallets.
In the face of such security threats, lawmakers around the world are reassessing their regulations and controls, with Vietnam not alone in making tentative progress on comprehensive digital asset regulation in the past week.
Ukraine crypto framework clears committee but central bank digs in
Ukraine’s plan to bring its digital asset market under formal regulation passed a key milestone on November 4 as the Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy voted to support the draft law, which, among other measures, designates the regulators who will oversee the space and defines the rules for taxation of transactions with digital assets.
Yet doubt remains, as the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the country’s central bank, signaled it will not endorse the legislation without further changes.
On November 4, the Rada’s finance, tax and customs committee voted, with 20 members in favor, to recommend draft law No. 10225-d to parliament for second reading and final adoption. Yaroslav Zhelezniak, who led the working group behind the text, said a plenary vote is planned before the end of November and, if passed, the regime would apply from July 1, 2027, according to a report from local outlet Fintech Insider.
The revised bill settles a question left open at first reading, namely that the securities regulator, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine (NSSMC), would, in effect, lead oversight, while the NBU retains responsibility for e-money and currency supervision (stablecoins and any future CBDC).
In addition, exchanges, custodians, and other providers would need authorization and would face stricter financial monitoring and checks on the origin of client funds.
On tax, gains would be calculated as for securities, on the gap between purchase and sale price; token-for-token swaps would not be taxed, and digital asset transactions would sit outside value-added tax (VAT). Meanwhile, holdings acquired before the regime starts would qualify for a concessionary 5% income tax rate until the end of 2028. At first reading in September 2025, the general rate was set at 18% plus a 5% military levy.
The NBU, which actively participated in developing the draft, said in a Telegram post on November 4 that it “supports the regulation of the virtual assets market in Ukraine based on the European MiCA approach, international standards and IMF recommendations.”
However, it went on to say that “the process of developing the document was not sufficiently transparent” and it cannot back the current draft. The central bank’s principal complaints were that foreign tokens functioning as e-money could reach Ukrainian users without adequate supervision, and that a lighter path for foreign assets must not let issuers sidestep rules imposed on domestic equivalents. It also fears exchange licensing could breed monopoly and corruption.
Ukraine has technically had a digital asset statute since 2022, when parliament adopted Law No. 2074-IX “On Virtual Assets” in February 2022 and the President signed it in March, but it has never taken effect because it depends on Tax Code amendments that parliament has yet to pass. As a result, there is still no authorization regime or register of licensed providers.
In the meantime, usage has flourished in the country, with Chainalysis ranking Ukraine eighth for adoption in 2025, first when population is taken into account.
The ongoing war with Russia also remains part of the equation, as Kyiv began publicly appealing for digital asset donations in February 2022 and said it had raised close to $100 million by March.
FAQs:
How large is the China-Oman currency swap agreement?
It is worth 30 billion yuan (about $4.49 billion), or 1.5 billion Omani rials, and runs for five years.
What are Vietnam’s new crypto reporting rules?
Exchanges must report IT incidents affecting customers to the State Securities Commission within 24 hours and send custody data every Monday. They must also file a client asset report every six months, and senior executives must pre-report personal crypto trades.
Why did Vietnam introduce these rules now?
The rules respond to major cyberattacks worldwide, including the October 29 Binance hack and the Mercado Bitcoin breach. The expected launch of Vietnam’s first domestic exchange also played a part.
Who would regulate crypto under Ukraine’s draft law?
The securities regulator (NSSMC) would lead oversight, while the National Bank of Ukraine would supervise e-money and currency matters, including stablecoins and any future CBDC.
When could Ukraine’s crypto regime take effect?
A plenary vote is planned before the end of November. If the bill passes, the regime would apply from July 1, 2027.
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James Field
James Field is a senior writer and researcher specializing in legal and regulatory developments in fintech. During his decade of experience covering the tech, business and legal sectors he has worked as a deputy editor (in charge of Africa coverage) for the market leading Legal 500, written for various global news, industry and B2B outlets (including Legal Business, Geographical Magazine and Dutch News), and reported from tech events, including London Blockchain Conference and UK House of Lords Finance Summits.
