Vietnam officially bans cryptocurrency as payment, yet a quarter-million-dollar stablecoin transaction unfolds in a café on an ordinary March morning. This investigation reveals the paradox of a Communist state championing digital transformation while a thriving shadow financial system operates in plain sight. Through on-the-ground reporting across Vietnamese cities, the piece exposes how a cashless, tech-savvy population navigates the gap between official policy and economic reality.
Author Bio
Her reporting has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, Forbes, Euromoney and ETF.com, among other international publications covering global markets, digital assets and finance. She has held editorial roles at Bloomberg, CoinDesk and Interactive Investor.
Email: news@tanzeelakhtar.com
X: @Tanzeel_Akhtar
Instagram: @TanzeelAkhtarJournalist
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Recent Work by Tanzeel Akhtar // ARCHIVES//
- WSJ.COM – The Boom in Crypto ETFs Has a Downside for Investors June 10, 2026
- The Node – Iced Coffee and Invisible Dollars: Inside Vietnam’s Stablecoin Economy May 17, 2026
- WSJ.COM – The Case for Investing in Emerging Markets April 25, 2026
- WSJ.COM – More Middle-Income Americans Are Trying to Make a New Life Overseas November 12, 2025
- Bloomberg October 23, 2023
- CoinDesk March 1, 2023
- Investing.com – Uptick In ‘Digital Dollar’ Effort Is Encouraging, But How Realistic Is It? May 15, 2020
- WSJ.COM – Oil ETF Is Down 83% So Far This Year May 4, 2020
- WSJ.COM – Strong Flows in Bond ETFs After Fed Interest May 4, 2020
- WSJ.COM – SPY ETF Sees Spike in Volatility April 6, 2020
- WSJ.COM – ETF Closures Continue at Brisk Pace March 13, 2020
- WSJ.COM – Passive Investing Gains Traction in Europe February 10, 2020
- WSJ.COM – Swiss ETFs Remain a Refuge February 10, 2020
- WSJ.COM – Nordic ETFs Lost Assets in 2019 January 6, 2020
- WSJ.COM – Japan’s Topix ETFs Continue to Attract Cash December 9, 2019
- WSJ.COM – Marijuana ETFs Drag Despite the Interest in Them November 4, 2019
- WSJ.COM – Brexit Jitters Trigger ETF Outflows October 7, 2019
- WSJ.COM – A Greek ETF Rises, After Earlier Turmoil September 21, 2019
- WSJ.COM – Vegans May Soon Have an ETF August 6, 2019
- HedgeWeek Profile: Valley Forge Capital Management July 21, 2019
- WSJ.COM – ETFs Join the Socially Responsible Investing Surge April 25, 2019
- WSJ.COM – U.S. Midterm Elections Could Test Health-Care ETFs – November 2018 December 1, 2018
- ETF for U.K. Stocks Feels the Brexit Impact. August 2018 October 9, 2018
- WSJ.com — Marijuana ETF Is In The Right Spot October 8, 2018
- WSJ.com — Turkey ETF Draws Optimists September 10, 2018
- Bitcoin Bull Mark Yusko On The Future of Crypto, ETFs & Blockchain August 1, 2018
- WSJ.com – July 2018 July 19, 2018
- The Wall Street Journal – April 2018 April 10, 2018
- Investing.com September 21, 2017
- WSJ: German ETFs Ride on More Than the Election August 6, 2017
- Cryptocurrency & Blockchain News. July 29, 2017
- WSJ: Europe’s ETF Market Shifts Into Higher Gear June 10, 2017
- Yahoo! Finance March 30, 2017
- Citywire PassiveBeat – ETFs Coverage March 8, 2017
- WSJ.COM – Investors Buy TIPS Funds After Trump March 8, 2017
- Citywire – high yield bonds December 28, 2016
- The Wall Street Journal – November 2016 November 7, 2016
- CampdenFO (Family Office) magazine November 6, 2016
- The Future For Big Data In FinTech Is Bright October 21, 2016
- CIO UK – RSA Insurance Group Profile September 25, 2016
- Portfolio Institutional September 12, 2016
- The Wall Street Journal – Sept, 6th 2016 September 6, 2016
- Spear’s Wealth Management June 26, 2016
- FT Alphaville June 26, 2016
- Euromoney: Swedish krona in line of fire amid Brexit June 22, 2016
- The Wall Street Journal, May, 9, 2016 May 9, 2016
- WSJ April 4, 2016
- Funds Global Asia March 31, 2016
- WSJ March 7, 2016
- 2015 December 7, 2015
- ETF.com – Europe November 30, 2015
- (no title) November 21, 2015
- (no title) October 6, 2015
- The Wall Street Journal September 10, 2015
- Global Investor September 7, 2015
- Perspectives Magazine September 1, 2015
- The Wall Street Journal August 10, 2015
- Marketing Week July 9, 2015
- Buy/Sell?! March 22, 2015
- Waters Magazine – #FinTech March 19, 2015
- Market Intelligence January 1, 2015
- Are women better stock pickers? CNBC December 31, 2014
- Have emerging markets hit a BRIC wall? December 31, 2014
- Interactive Investor January 16, 2014
- Investors cautioned on QE tapering over-reaction. July 4, 2013
- Fundweb June 16, 2013
- Mining Journal December 21, 2012
- Total, ExxonMobil sign agreement to search for shale gas in Poland December 20, 2012
- Mining Journal December 20, 2012
- Forbes December 20, 2012
- Gender Gulf – Spear’s WM December 20, 2012
- Gateway to Africa July 21, 2012
- Marketing Week December 1, 2011
- Wall Street Journal Wealth Adviser September 9, 2011
- Futures and Options World March 22, 2010
- Food News January 16, 2009
- Food News January 16, 2009
- Food News January 16, 2009
- The Independent January 16, 2008
- South Wales Argus January 16, 2007
- South Wales Argus January 16, 2007
- Lancashire Evening Post January 16, 2006
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Tanzeel Akhtar 