When admiration and trust turn into a warning: the rise and fall of "Shark Binh"

THE HANOI TIMES — Lately, everyone in Hanoi seems to be talking about businessman Nguyen Hoa Binh, known as “Shark Binh”. From morning cafés to late-night online chats, his name keeps coming up.

For years, people saw him as the face of Vietnam’s tech generation – confident, eloquent and ambitious. He built companies, mentored startups and spoke the language of innovation that many young people admired.

Those who watched the show “Shark Tank Vietnam” remember him well. His sharpness and charm made business sound like art. In a country still defining its role in the global digital economy, Binh symbolized the power of talent and determination.

That image has now been clouded by controversy. In early October, Binh became the subject of an investigation linked to AntEx, a cryptocurrency project tied to his business group or at least his personal taste.

On the evening of October 6, police were seen entering his office on Tam Trinh Street in Hanoi. By dawn, photos of officers and flashing lights had spread across social media.

The Ministry of Public Security later confirmed it was handling several complaints from investors who said they had lost money or could not withdraw their funds.

Authorities have not filed formal charges, but the incident has shaken public confidence in a man once seen as a symbol of success.

Reactions online came quickly. Some defended him, saying innovation always involves risk. Others accused him of turning trust into profit. It felt like more than gossip – a reckoning that technology changes fast, but human behavior rarely does.

Vietnam’s digital economy has grown at remarkable speed in recent years. New apps, trading platforms and investment tools have appeared almost overnight.

People saw opportunities everywhere and rushed to join in. In their excitement, many overlooked key questions: Who regulates this? How transparent is it? What happens if it fails?

Crypto, fintech and online trading have opened new doors for millions of investors. But they can also become traps when ambition outpaces understanding.

For many, it wasn’t greed but hope that drew them in. Hope of joining something modern, global and unstoppable.

That hope made the AntEx case hit especially hard. Binh wasn’t an outsider. He was one of “us”, a familiar face who seemed to know how this new world worked. His fall from grace exposed not only the risks of a crypto project but the fragility of trust when business, technology and image blend together.

Preliminary findings show that the AntEx token lost up to 99% of its peak value, wiping out the savings of many small investors. Several users said their accounts were frozen or their digital assets vanished within months of the platform’s collapse. Authorities have called it a suspected “rug-pull” scheme.

Investigators also confirmed that Binh once announced a personal investment of about US$2.5 million in AntEx. After the project reportedly merged or rebranded as Rabbit, the new token’s value dropped by around 95%, raising questions about transparency and control over investor assets.

Officials have urged investors to stay cautious. “Technology is not a shortcut to wealth,” one police officer told the press. “It’s a tool and any tool can be misused.” The warning may sound old-fashioned, but perhaps it’s what people need to hear.

Today, confidence often passes for credibility. A sleek website, a catchy slogan, or a familiar name can make anything seem trustworthy. Yet if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

This story is bigger than one man or one company. It reflects the culture of speed shaping modern Vietnam: how fast we trust, how quickly we invest, how easily we believe success can be replicated.

When admiration turns into obsession, people stop asking questions. And when the admired person falls, it feels personal, as if our own dreams have been betrayed.

Perhaps the lesson from Shark Binh’s story is simple: admire less, examine more. Ask where the money comes from, how it grows and who takes responsibility when it disappears. Transparency is a necessity, not a luxury.

Vietnam’s digital future still holds great promise. But progress will last only when built on patience and accountability. Fast money can vanish overnight, while integrity takes years to earn.

So before clicking “invest,” pause. Read the fine print. Think twice about promises that sound effortless. Because today, even admiration and trust can be turned into leverage. And when they run out, what’s left is not innovation, but a lesson.

Vietnamese government sets new rules for digital assets The Vietnamese government issued Resolution No. 05 on September 9, 2025, launching a five-year pilot phase for the digital asset market. It marks a major step toward recognizing digital assets, which have become increasingly familiar to the public. Under the resolution, licensed domestic exchanges must operate in Vietnamese dong and have minimum charter capital of VND10 trillion (US$380 million). Transaction fees are not yet fixed but may initially follow the stock market rate of about 0.15%. In July, the National Assembly passed the Digital Industry Law, recognizing digital assets and requiring trading platforms to obtain domestic licenses and provide VND-based gateways starting January 1, 2026. The government that month also launched NDAChain, a national blockchain platform that supports secure financial transactions and online shopping. By August, Vietnam planned to pilot five licensed digital asset exchanges supporting Bitcoin, Ethereum and around 50 other digital assets. According to a report by VinaCapital, an estimated 17 million Vietnamese people have traded cryptocurrencies, with an annual transaction value exceeding $100 billion. Most activities take place on foreign platforms such as Binance, Bybit and those based in Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong (China).