Journalism in the era of the cryptocurrency 'matrix'

The emergence of blockchain and cryptocurrencies has opened up an entirely new field for economic journalism. To keep up with technological changes, many reporters have to educate themselves, update their knowledge, and persistently verify information. With their professional skills, these sharp-witted writers are becoming the key to exposing scams and protecting investors' assets in the digital age.

When economic knowledge is not enough

Around 2018, terms like blockchain, cryptocurrency, token, and NFT began appearing frequently on technology and investment forums. When Sky Mavis's game Axie Infinity gained international acclaim, interest in blockchain in Vietnam increased even further. Many new projects emerged, sparking debates about the opportunities, risks, and future of this relatively new field.

Le My, Editor of the Economics and Technology Department of Vietnamnet newspaper, is working at the conference. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

For those working in economic journalism, it's also a time to familiarize themselves with a new "language." Besides familiar financial indicators, reporters must learn more about technology, operating models, and how money flows in the digital environment.

Journalist Le My, Editor of the Economics and Technology Department of Vietnamnet newspaper, is one of the few who have delved into this field from its early days. Despite his extensive experience, he admits that when faced with blockchain, he has to learn from scratch.

"I love new technologies. So, when the term blockchain started appearing, I didn't just stand on the sidelines observing; I went directly into it to learn more. Leveraging my network in the tech industry, I collaborated with development teams. Thanks to this hands-on experience and direct learning from these teams, I was able to thoroughly grasp every aspect of this technology," journalist Le My recounted her self-taught journey.

To avoid being manipulated by businesses, journalists must cultivate an extremely rigorous professional "filter." Le My recalls the period when the blockchain market emerged as a phenomenon, from 2018 to 2022: "There were months when I had to read about 150 funding project decks, but only selected 1 or 2 that were genuine. Many projects presented impressive teams, with self-proclaimed Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) fromFPT Software. But when I used my network to verify them directly, I discovered that the corporation didn't have such personnel."

While journalist Le My chose a direct approach with development teams to understand how the technology works, Khuong Nha, a journalist at the Thanh Nien Newspaper's Digital Content Development Center, also spent many years monitoring blockchain from a technological and innovative perspective. For both, the journey of understanding digital assets did not begin with investment frenzies but with the need to understand a new field before being able to explain it to readers.

To avoid being manipulated by businesses, journalists must cultivate an extremely rigorous professional "filter." (Illustrative image)

About five years ago, when blockchain was considered one of the emerging technology trends, journalist Khuong Nha began to spend a lot of time following this field. According to him, the rapid development of the technology easily leads many people into two states: either skepticism due to a lack of understanding or being swept away by the fear of missing out (FOMO).

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"Back then, blockchain was just emerging, and Vietnam had a rare opportunity to be on the same starting line as the rest of the world. The natural reaction of the community to a rapidly developing trend is usually resistance or FOMO (fear of missing out). In the long run, neither is good. I think if I can share the latest, most accurate information in the easiest way to understand, people will understand correctly before making decisions," Khuong Nha shared.

However, no lesson comes without a price. Journalist Khuong Nha argues that in the field of digital assets, the line between a failed project and one showing signs of fraud is sometimes quite thin. In a market that changes by the hour, reporters cannot rely solely on intuition but must set their own rigorous evaluation standards and consult experts. "Besides the principles of verifying information, those following this field must develop their own evaluation criteria and seek further opinions from experts," he shared.

In fact, to understand how blockchain and digital asset projects work, many journalists covering the technology and finance sectors have spent considerable time observing the market, researching the operating models of projects, and even directly experiencing some platforms. During this process, many journalists have lost money on "learning materials" because some projects ceased operations due to ineffective models, some failed to achieve their goals, and some were even scams.

According to journalist Khuong Nha, real-world experiences provide journalists with more data and perspectives when evaluating a project, instead of relying solely on promotional information or promised returns.

Keeping the passion for the profession alive amidst the virtual and real worlds.

Once journalists have mastered the rules of the game, their skills are tested by exposing sophisticated crimes. In cyberspace, the form of "blatant theft" of assets is called "Rug Pull" - the act of simultaneously dumping internal tokens onto investors.

Khuong Nha, a reporter from the Digital Content Development Center of Thanh Nien newspaper, is covering an international blockchain event. Photo: Provided by the reporter.

The high-profile case involving Nguyen Hoa Binh's (Shark Binh) AntEx project is a case in point. Although Shark Binh had previously portrayed himself as a victim in the media, claiming he was defrauded of $2.5 million by the development team, journalist Le My took an independent approach from a data analysis perspective. "I don't disagree with Shark Binh's perspective, nor am I rushing to conclusions. What I'm interested in is analyzing how the project operated, how transactions took place, and what the data on the blockchain revealed. Therefore, I have re-analyzed the project so that readers can understand," journalist Le My shared.

According to him, when dealing with cases involving digital assets, journalists need to maintain a cautious attitude, avoiding speculation or making judgments without sufficient evidence. Instead of relying on information circulating on social media, cross-referencing transaction data on blockchain, project records, and opinions from multiple independent sources provides reporters with a stronger basis for approaching the issue more objectively.

Looking back at the early years of monitoring blockchain, journalist Khuong Nha believes that the current digital asset market is very different from its previous spontaneous development phase. While previously most activities related to cryptocurrencies took place in a legal "grey area," in recent years, this field has been gradually brought under regulatory framework.

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According to journalist Khuong Nha, in a short period of time, a series of important documents have been issued, such as Resolution No. 05/2025/NQ-CP on piloting the cryptocurrency market in Vietnam, Circular No. 15/2026/TT-BTC guiding accounting for cryptocurrency market organizations, and Decision No. 96/QD-BTC announcing administrative procedures for the pilot implementation of the cryptocurrency market under the management of the Ministry of Finance.

"This is a huge change. In particular, under the Digital Technology Industry Law effective from January 1, 2026, crypto assets are recognized as a type of asset for the first time and are included within a legal framework," journalist Khuong Nha commented.

The changing market also requires those following the economic and technology sectors to constantly update their knowledge. According to journalist Le My, after a period of rapid growth, the blockchain market has undergone many changes. Many projects lacking a solid foundation have been phased out, while some Vietnamese businesses continue to assert their position in the international market, such as Sky Mavis, Kyber Network, and Ninety-eight. He believes that in the future, blockchain will not only be associated with cryptocurrencies or investment models but can also be applied in many fields such as data authentication, product traceability, and asset digitization.

Technology continues to evolve, and new fields emerge every day. For journalists covering economics and technology, learning and updating knowledge is almost a constant requirement of their work. Their ultimate goal remains to understand the issues correctly before conveying information to their readers.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/lam-bao-thoi-ma-tran-tien-so-20260618200626986.htm