I received an airdrop worth 50 million VND in January 2026, but the token has dropped to 10 million VND. How much do I pay tax on?

You pay tax on the value at the time you received the airdrop (50 million VND), not the current price. This is one of the unfair aspects of the crypto tax system many Vietnamese encounter. If you later sell for 10 million VND, you record a capital loss of 40 million VND, which can be offset against capital gains for that year. The net tax could end up being zero, but only if you proactively sell to realize the loss and declare it. Holding and not selling does not "erase" the 50 million VND income that was already generated.

I staked ETH via Lido and received stETH; the stETH price gradually increases. Do I need to declare this daily?

You have two options. The simpler one (Option 1) is to only declare when you sell or unstake stETH — the entire price difference of stETH compared to the original cost basis (when you deposited ETH) is capital gain/loss. The more accurate one (Option 2) is to record accrued income daily based on the rebase. I recommend Option 1 for retail users as it's simple and valid. Option 2 is only needed for high volume with an accountant tracking.

I participated in a testnet and received reward points (not yet listed). Is this taxable income?

If the token is not listed on an exchange and lacks reliable liquidity (liquidity under $100K USD in 24h on DEX), the market price cannot be determined, and you can temporarily consider the cost basis as 0. When the token later lists and you sell, the entire proceeds will be taxable income (cost basis = 0). This is a conservative and accepted method. If you want to recognize it earlier, you can use the initial listing price when it just hit the exchange.

I received a referral bonus from Binance for inviting a friend. Is it different from an airdrop for tax purposes?

The nature is similar — this is income from digital assets when you receive them. When you receive a USDT referral bonus, you record income = amount of USDT × VND exchange rate at the time of receipt. The cost basis of USDT = receipt value. When you later sell or swap, the difference is capital gain/loss. Some exchanges pay referrals directly in VND (Vietnamese pilot exchanges) — in this case, the income is pure VND without a second taxable event.

Can the Vietnamese tax authority trace my MetaMask wallet via the blockchain?

Technically, the blockchain is public — anyone knowing your wallet address can view all transactions on Etherscan, Arbiscan, Solscan. However, to link the wallet address to your personal identity, the tax authority needs information from KYC exchanges (CAEX, TCEX, VIXEX, Binance, OKX). If you only use DEXes without KYC, linking is very difficult. But the legal regulations still apply — you have an obligation to self-declare. Vietnam is increasing international cooperation and data sharing — you should not rely on "anonymity" to avoid your obligations.

Do I need to declare an airdrop from a scam project (e.g., random tokens sent to my wallet)?

Tokens with zero liquidity or that cannot be traded do not generate taxable income. However, you should not interact (claim, approve, swap) with these tokens as they may be phishing attempts. Safety rule: if you don't remember registering for a project and suddenly receive a token, check on Etherscan what it is and don't rush to claim. I've written a detailed guide on spotting scam tokens in the [signing message scam Web3](#) article.

Airdrop & Staking Tax Guide under Circular 32…

Airdrop and Staking Rewards Tax Declaration under Circular 32/2026: When Is It Income, When Is It a Digital Asset?

Cập nhật: 12 tháng 5, 2026

With Circular 32/2026/TT-BTC fully in effect from fiscal year 2026, one of the biggest gray areas for Vietnamese crypto holders is how to handle airdrops and staking rewards. I've reviewed many Q1/2026 tax filings and found most users either skip them entirely or declare them incorrectly (only recording upon sale, skipping the "receipt" step). This article provides a detailed legal framework analysis, explains how to determine market value at reception, and gives real-world examples for 4 common reward types.