Amid growing controversy on social media surrounding the AntEx cryptocurrency project associated with businessman Nguyen Hoa Binh, Chairman of NextTech Group, Hanoi Police have confirmed it has assigned specialized units to gather information and conduct a review.
At a press conference held yesterday by the Ministry of Public Security, Colonel Nguyen Duc Long, Deputy Director of the Public Security Department of Hanoi, stated that in response to recent online discussions regarding the AntEx project, relevant investigative units have been directed to look into the matter and monitor developments.
"So far, the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention has received a complaint from a resident of Ninh Binh Province, who reported a loss of US$2,000 after investing in cryptocurrency," said the Colonel.
The Colonel added that Hanoi Police affirmed that all formal complaints will be handled in accordance with legal procedures. Updates will be provided to the media once results are available.
In 2021, Nguyen Hoa Binh announced an investment of $2.5 million into the AntEx project through the Next100Blockchain fund, where he also served as a strategic advisor. AntEx was introduced as a decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, attracting significant attention from local investors despite the lack of a legal framework for digital assets in Vietnam at the time.
However, the AntEx token quickly plummeted, losing up to 99 percent of its value, and the project’s official website and social media channels subsequently went offline. In March 2023, AntEx rebranded as Rabbit (RAB), but the new token also suffered a steep decline, losing around 95 percent of its value.
After years of silence, on September 24, Shark Binh publicly commented on the AntEx project, highlighting that many startups today issue tokens mainly as a means of early fundraising, with some raising between $3 million–$5 million. He admitted to having invested in AntEx in the past but claimed that the project’s technical team had engaged in misconduct and disappeared, leaving investors and advisors like himself to bear reputational damage.
Following his livestream on September 26, an anonymous account countered Nguyen Hoa Binh's statements, alleging that he was in fact behind the AntEx collapse and profited financially rather than incurring losses after investing in the project.
