Is it a Triple Dream or a Nightmare?

No Game for Novices

In April, the crypto market witnessed one of its most devastating crashes as the price of Mantra (OM) plummeted from $5.68/token to $1.37 within hours. The downward spiral continued, with OM’s value further declining to around $0.45/token by the end of April and currently trading at $0.23. Compared to its peak in February 2025, when it reached $9.10/token, OM’s price has now dropped nearly 40-fold. This crash left many Vietnamese investors devastated and almost wiped out, as recounted by Hòa, a long-time crypto trader.

Flashback to May 2022, and we witnessed another crypto bloodbath with Luna’s price freefalling from over $80/token to near zero in a matter of days. Its stablecoin sibling, UST, also took a nosedive, leading to the collapse of the entire Terra ecosystem and an estimated loss of $40 billion. The global crypto community, including Vietnam, was thrown into a state of chaos and constant whiplash.

Dũng Nguyễn, a Hanoi-based investor, shared his story of investing 200 million VND in Luna when it dropped to 8 VND, expecting a rebound common in this volatile market. However, Luna’s price continued its downward spiral, resulting in a near-total loss of Dũng’s investment.

Experts predict that the legalization of crypto assets in Vietnam, coupled with the potential launch of a domestic exchange, could trigger a wave of new investors. Sơn Thùy, a crypto insider, explains that unlike the stock market, crypto assets are highly volatile and trade 24/7, allowing for the doubling or tripling of assets or their decimation within minutes. “With such extreme volatility, the line between the dream of doubling your wealth and the nightmare of losing it all is incredibly fragile. This is not a game for novices,” Thùy warns.

The Pitfalls of Greed and Scams

Novices in the crypto space not only face the risk of devastating price crashes but also a myriad of scams. A common scheme involves groups issuing tokens, aggressively promoting them to attract investors, and then dumping their holdings and disappearing with the funds. This has led to numerous criminal cases, including a recent one in Hưng Yên Province, where a group of nine individuals was arrested for a USDT scam on a fake exchange called “Toptrade1,” defrauding victims of over VND 2,600 billion. According to Chainalysis, from 2020 to February 2025, there were 657 attacks on blockchain systems globally, resulting in losses of $12.8 billion. The first half of 2025 alone saw losses of $2.17 billion, surpassing the total for 2024. The Bybit attack, which resulted in losses of $1.5 billion, stands as the largest hack in blockchain history, while attacks on personal wallets accounted for 23.35% of total losses. Notable attacks on platforms with Vietnamese origins, such as Sky Mavis (Ronin) in 2022 and KyberSwap in 2023, serve as stark reminders of the urgent need to secure domestic blockchain platforms.

At the GM 2025 Blockchain Security Forum, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Minh Chính emphasized that the upcoming Law on Digital Industry, effective from January 1, 2026, addresses digital assets. While this law will boost economic development, it also presents challenges and risks. He highlighted that attacks on smart contracts, e-wallets, and blockchain bridges have already caused global losses in the billions, including some platforms and users from Vietnam who lacked legal protection. Additionally, criminal organizations exploit decentralization and anonymity to launder money, illegally raise capital, and issue scam tokens.

Lieutenant General Chính also cautioned against projects masquerading as innovative technology but operating as pyramid schemes, enticing users with little technical knowledge and causing severe financial harm and societal trust erosion. He reiterated that blockchain’s breakthroughs must be accompanied by risk management, legal compliance, and user safety to prevent it from becoming a loophole for cybercriminals and maintaining market stability and societal trust.