Why Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Influencers Bore the Brunt of Public Backlash After Vietnam’s New Crypto Regulations Took Effect
Following the official rollout of Vietnam’s regulatory decree on crypto assets (such as Decree No. 284/2026/NĐ-CP), administrative penalties for violations related to cryptocurrencies have been substantially upgraded, with fines reaching up to hundreds of millions of Vietnamese đồng. As the entire market undergoes a sweeping push toward compliance, a striking phenomenon has emerged: a large group of once-influential crypto KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders and influencers) suddenly found themselves targeted by retail investors through harsh accusations, cyberbullying, and legal claims.Vietnam crypto exchange
Why has the shift toward compliance in Vietnam’s crypto market dealt such a heavy blow to the influencer community?
1. The Disappearance of the Grey Zone: From Unregulated Promotion to Crossing Legal Red Lines
In the past, Vietnam’s crypto market operated in a legal grey area for a long time. Many KOLs relied on paid promotions from project teams to plug various tokens, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), or high-risk derivative platforms across social media.
Under the new regulatory policies, providing crypto asset services without approval from state competent authorities—or conducting false and non-compliant marketing disguised as standard promotions—has been explicitly defined as illegal.
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A Reckoning for Past Actions: Previously, KOLs could post paid promotions and simply walk away. Today, their historical statements calling on retail investors to blindly jump in—along with their recommendations of various shitcoins and vaporware projects—are placed firmly under the magnifying glass of regulatory compliance.
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Disclaimers No Longer Work: In the past, KOLs could dodge accountability by claiming, “This is just my personal investment breakdown” or “Do Your Own Research (DYOR).” However, in the eyes of the law, simple disclaimers can no longer mask the commercial reality of paid promotion and misleading investment advice.
2. Shifts in Investor Mindset: From “Accepting the Gamble” to “Demanding Accountability”
During the market’s era of wild, unchecked growth, retail investors who lost money often felt they had no choice but to accept their bad luck, viewing crypto investments as a game where you simply “play at your own risk.”
However, once the government introduced formal rules and regulations, the underlying market logic and investor mindset underwent a fundamental shift:
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Expectations Mirrored from Traditional Finance: Retail investors began expecting the digital asset market to offer the same level of fairness and protection as the stock market.
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Outrage Upon Awakening: As many retail investors lost everything and gradually realized that the “100x coins” and “premium projects” hyped up by KOLs were actually well-orchestrated pump-and-dump schemes, their sense of betrayal erupted into outrage. Investors are no longer satisfied with merely venting in comment sections; they are publicly confronting influencers, demanding refunds of promotional fees, and resorting to legal action to protect their rights.
3. The Collapse of Credibility: The “Golden Age” of Monetizing Traffic Comes to an End
For KOLs, their most core asset has never been their follower count, but the trust placed in them by those followers.
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A Crisis of Confidence and Backfiring Endorsements: When the crackdown on compliance hit, retail investors suddenly realized that much of the so-called “professional analysis” from KOLs was merely paid advertising. This massive psychological gap caused trust to evaporate overnight.
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Survival Instincts and Retreat: Facing pressure from both the law and public opinion, many previously high-profile KOLs have been forced to delete their accounts, shut down their communities, or stay completely silent to lie low. The era of treating follower traffic as a scythe to ruthlessly “chop chump” (lùa gà / exploit naive investors) has been handed a absolute death sentence by the tide of regulation.
Conclusion
The drive toward regulatory compliance in Vietnam’s crypto market is an indispensable path toward cleansing the broader financial ecosystem and protecting everyday investors.
The reason this “compliance growing pain” triggered such an intense shockwave among KOLs is that it completely tore away the disguise worn during the era of wild growth. It serves as a stark wake-up call to all self-media creators and industry influencers: with greater influence comes greater responsibility. Any attempt to trade follower trust for quick, unethical profits will find zero room for survival in an era of strong, law-bound, and transparent regulation.