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Millions of dollars—or trillion-dong—fraud cases such as ONUS and Mr Pips have led to asset losses and highlighted weaknesses in the market, particularly the lack of financial literacy among individual investors.
As investment channels become more accessible but also riskier, improving financial literacy and capabilities for market participants has become an urgent task.
On March 28, police dismantled a high-tech crime ring that exploited the ONUS crypto exchange to appropriate assets. Investigators said the suspects established 52 companies, deceived tens of trillions of dong from the public, arrested and summoned 142 individuals—including the mastermind—and seized extensive documents, data, and physical evidence.
Earlier, the Phó Đức Nam (Mr Pips) case shocked the public after swindling more than 1.3 trillion dong through 738 fraud incidents. Across these schemes, a common factor was targeting the “get rich quick” mindset and the fundamental lack of financial literacy among investors.
In these “closed playgrounds,” perpetrators can control the full value chain—asset issuance, platform operation, and trade orchestration. Prices then stop reflecting supply and demand and are manipulated by the mastermind, leaving investors exposed in a pre-arranged confrontation.
The widespread use of online trading platforms shows investing is increasingly accessible. With a smartphone or laptop, individual investors can access many investment products, monitor markets in real time, and execute trades immediately. However, many platforms are not licensed, creating substantial challenges.
High interest rates promoted by ONUS drew many people to deposit funds into the unlicensed exchange. From cases like ONUS and Mr Pips, financial experts say improving financial literacy and expanding access to financial knowledge are prerequisites for Vietnam’s capital market to develop in a healthy, transparent, and sustainable way.
According to financial experts, when investing in asset classes targeting returns of around 10%, investors should also identify the corresponding risks. They emphasized that benefits and risks in financial investment always go together.
Mr. Trần Huyền Dinh, Head of the ChainTracer project at the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Asset Association, said that in Vietnam’s market development phase, investors must be vigilant about DeFi projects that have not been verified or when they lack sufficient knowledge and experience in the field.
He noted that many participants chase rapid wealth and short-term high profits, often overlooking risks. This makes them more vulnerable to advertisements from fraudulent platforms.
“Lessons from trillion-dong scams show the financial market is not a place to get rich quickly. It is a long-term process requiring knowledge, discipline, and patience. When individual investors understand this, the market will mature further,” Mr. Dinh said.
Risk is not limited to DeFi “trash” schemes that steal from investors; it also includes instability in unlicensed exchanges in Vietnam.
Immediately after the ONUS incident, several international crypto exchanges reportedly made “strange moves” in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese users said they could not conduct P2P trading on the international OKX exchange.
P2P (Peer-to-Peer) is a direct asset trading method between two individuals via online platforms. On crypto exchanges, users can sell USDT, Bitcoin, or other tokens for fiat currency, paying through bank accounts.
Reports about P2P trading issues on OKX circulated widely. Users worried their funds could be stuck on an unlicensed platform, especially because they said there were no notices from the platform.
OKX Vietnam later announced on Telegram: “P2P trading on OKX is currently under system maintenance. The technical team is working urgently to resolve the issue and services will resume shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Raising market and product knowledge is seen as urgent to mitigate risks and help investors identify channels aligned with their asset allocation strategy and financial capacity. This is also described as a central goal for developing a sustainable financial market.
Ms. Nguyễn Thị Hằng Nga, head of a securities unit, argued for an early national financial education program focused on long-term investing. She said regulators, professional associations, and financial institutions should coordinate to disseminate knowledge to the public, and that the Education Ministry should consider including personal financial planning content and the benefits of early investment in general education.
Alongside strengthening knowledge, trust building for crypto assets remains crucial. This requires transparent operating models, robust risk governance guidance, and an appropriate product ecosystem to attract users.
Mr. Phan Đức Trung, President of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Asset Association (VBA), said that in the pilot phase, trust building will be a major challenge for domestic exchanges. He said this demands transparent operation, risk management guidance, and a product ecosystem aligned with user needs.
As individual investors mature, the capital market can develop sustainably. The ONUS and Mr Pips episodes are described as not only enforcement actions, but also warnings about the urgent need to raise public financial literacy.
Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP on permitting pilot crypto asset exchanges in Vietnam has shown progress. Recently, the Ministry of Finance published and sent requests for comments to the Ministry of Public Security and the State Bank on five dossiers meeting the criteria to license crypto asset trading platforms.
The five dossiers include: Vietnam Digital Asset Joint Stock Company; VIX Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company (VIXEX); Loc Phat Vietnam Prosperity Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company (LPEX); Vietnam Prosperity Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company (CAEX); and Techcom Crypto Asset Exchange Joint Stock Company (TCEX). The article said all dossiers are complete and compliant under Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP.
Source: Ngoc Hien (VTV)
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