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Back in 2020, if you lived in Vietnam and wanted to trade crypto with Vietnamese Dong (VND), Bvnex was one of the few options that made sense. It promised fast bank transfers, local support, and access to dozens of altcoins without needing a foreign account. But by early 2023, the platform was gone-no trading, no customer service, no updates. Just a website that loaded but didn’t work. This isn’t a story about a bad exchange. It’s a story about an exchange that vanished without warning.
What Bvnex Actually Offered (When It Worked)
Bvnex launched in mid-2019 as a Vietnam-focused crypto exchange. Its main selling point was simple: deposit VND directly from your Vietnamese bank account and buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or local tokens like VET or BNB without jumping through international hoops. That was rare at the time. Most exchanges required wire transfers, third-party payment processors, or didn’t support VND at all.
It offered spot trading, margin trading, and even IEOs (Initial Exchange Offerings) for local projects. Fees were standard for the era: 0.15% maker, 0.25% taker. Withdrawal fees for Bitcoin were around 0.0005 BTC-roughly $22 at 2022 prices. The mobile app was basic but functional, with guides for new users. For a short time, it felt like the local answer to Binance.
At its peak in mid-2021, Bvnex claimed over $650 million in daily trading volume. It ranked #147 globally on CoinGecko. Thousands of Vietnamese traders used it daily. The platform even had a small community of users who praised its easy VND deposits and responsive local support.
The Cracks Started Showing in 2021
Then came November 2021. The State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular No. 19/2021/TT-NHNN, which reinforced that cryptocurrency could not be used as a payment method. It didn’t ban holding crypto-but it made it harder to move money in and out. Banks started blocking transfers linked to crypto exchanges. Suddenly, Bvnex’s core function was under attack.
Instead of adapting, Bvnex made things worse. Withdrawal limits dropped overnight-from 500 million VND ($21,500) per transaction to just 50 million VND ($2,150). No explanation. No notice. Users who had been depositing large amounts found themselves locked out of their own funds.
Then came the delistings. In early 2022, Bvnex quietly removed 12 major altcoins from its platform without warning. Some were low-volume tokens. Others were popular in Vietnam, like DOT and ADA. Users couldn’t sell. They couldn’t withdraw. The exchange said it was “restructuring,” but no timeline was given.
Transparency Was Never There
Unlike Binance, Kraken, or Coinbase, Bvnex never published proof of reserves. It never allowed third-party audits. No one could verify if the coins users deposited were actually on the exchange. That wasn’t a problem when trading volume was high-but as volume dropped, suspicions grew.
By Q4 2021, CoinMarketCap flagged Bvnex for “suspected volume inflation.” The numbers didn’t match up with real on-chain activity. Independent analysts noticed that trading pairs had no real liquidity-orders were filled instantly, but no one else was placing them. It looked like bots were generating fake trades.
ICORankings, a trusted exchange review site, gave Bvnex a 1.8/5 rating in early 2023. Their report said: “Total opacity-no tracked volume or public data. Activity dried up-now inactive with zero trading pairs.” That wasn’t an opinion. That was a fact.
User Reports: Withdrawals Vanished
On Trustpilot, 37 reviews were archived before the site went dark. The average rating? 1.9/5. The top complaints were consistent:
- Withdrawals took over 72 hours-sometimes weeks.
- Customer support never replied to tickets.
- Accounts got frozen without reason.
One Reddit user, u/VN_Crypto_Trader, posted in November 2022: “I had 50 million VND ($2,150) stuck in my Bvnex account for 45 days. No response. No refund. No update. I’ve lost everything.” That post got over 1,200 upvotes. Dozens of others replied with the same story.
Some users claimed they could still log in-but deposits and withdrawals were disabled. Others couldn’t even log in anymore. The website remained up, but the backend was dead.
Why Bvnex Failed When Others Survived
Other exchanges in Vietnam-like Binance Vietnam and Huobi Vietnam-also faced the same regulatory pressure. But they had one thing Bvnex didn’t: global backing. Binance partnered with Midtrans in early 2022 to offer VND on-ramps through a licensed payment processor. They kept operating. They kept transparency. They kept audits.
Bvnex had none of that. No parent company. No venture funding. No public financials. Just a small team in Ho Chi Minh City trying to compete with giants.
It also had no unique value beyond VND access. Unlike KuCoin (which rewards users with KCS tokens) or Gate.io (with its GT ecosystem), Bvnex offered no token, no staking rewards, no loyalty program. When the market turned, users had no reason to stay.
The Final Days: No Announcement, Just Silence
There was no shutdown notice. No email. No social media post. Bvnex didn’t say goodbye. It just stopped working.
By December 15, 2022, its last recorded trading volume was $1.2 million-down 99.8% from its peak. CoinMarketCap removed it from its tracker in Q1 2023. ICORankings confirmed it had “zero trading pairs” and “no trade data available.” The website still loads today, but it’s just a static page with outdated info and broken links.
Elliptic’s Chief Analyst, Tom Robinson, summed it up in a 2022 interview: “Exchanges without transparent volume metrics and declining user activity rarely recover. They become exit scams-or simply vanish.” Bvnex didn’t just fail. It disappeared.
What You Should Learn From Bvnex
If you’re thinking about using a small, local crypto exchange today, ask yourself these questions:
- Does it publish proof of reserves? (If not, walk away.)
- Is it listed on CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko with verified volume? (If not, be suspicious.)
- Has it ever been audited by a third party? (If no, assume your funds aren’t safe.)
- Can you withdraw your crypto without jumping through hoops? (If withdrawals are slow or capped, it’s a red flag.)
Bvnex wasn’t a scam from day one. It started as a legitimate attempt to serve a local market. But without transparency, accountability, or long-term planning, it couldn’t survive. It’s a warning for anyone who thinks a crypto exchange can operate in the shadows.
Today, if you’re in Vietnam and want to trade crypto, stick with exchanges that are globally recognized and transparent: Binance, Kraken, or Coinbase. They may not be perfect-but at least you know where your money is.
What Happened to Your Money on Bvnex?
If you had funds on Bvnex, they’re likely gone. There’s no recovery process. No legal recourse. No official channel to file a claim. The team behind Bvnex has vanished. The domain is still registered, but no one is answering.
Some users reported getting partial refunds through bank chargebacks, but only if they acted quickly in late 2022. After that, banks stopped cooperating. Without a legal entity to sue, there’s no path forward.
This isn’t just a lesson about one exchange. It’s a lesson about trust in crypto. If you can’t verify where your assets are, you don’t own them. You’re trusting someone else to hold them-and when that someone disappears, so does your money.
Is Bvnex still operational in 2025?
No, Bvnex is completely defunct as of early 2023. The website still exists as a static page, but all trading, deposits, and withdrawals have been disabled for over two years. There is no customer support, no active team, and no plans to return.
Why did Bvnex shut down?
Bvnex shut down because it lacked transparency, failed to adapt to Vietnam’s tightening crypto regulations, and lost user trust. Withdrawal limits were cut without notice, altcoins were delisted abruptly, and volume data was suspected of being inflated. Without audits or real liquidity, users fled-and once the money stopped flowing, the platform collapsed.
Can I recover my funds from Bvnex?
There is no official way to recover funds from Bvnex. The company never issued a shutdown notice or provided a recovery process. Most users who tried to withdraw after late 2022 were unsuccessful. Without a legal entity or registered company behind the exchange, there are no legal avenues for recovery.
Was Bvnex a scam?
It’s not clear if Bvnex was a scam from the start. It likely began as a legitimate exchange serving a real need in Vietnam. But its lack of transparency, refusal to audit reserves, and sudden withdrawal restrictions suggest it operated with poor governance. Many experts now classify it as an “exit scam”-a platform that grew with user trust, then disappeared with the funds.
What are safer alternatives to Bvnex for Vietnamese users?
Safer alternatives include Binance Vietnam, Kraken, and Coinbase-all of which support VND deposits through licensed partners like Midtrans. These platforms offer verified volume, public audits, and global backing. They also allow you to withdraw your crypto to your own wallet, giving you full control over your assets.
Chris Popovec
Let me guess - Bvnex was running a ponzi with fake volume. No audits, no reserves, just bots pumping VND pairs. Classic exit scam. I saw this exact pattern with 3 other Asian exchanges in 2021. They all vanished after the crypto winter hit. The only difference? Bvnex didn’t even bother to fake a goodbye. Lazy.