20-year-old female student wins Universe of Money and has the opportunity to join Vietnam's leading bank

On November 16, 2025, more than 1,000 students were present at the National Innovation Center NIC to witness the ultimate competition combining intelligence and technology: the 2025 Coin Universe Final. The top 6 astronauts: Pham Thi Mai Huong (Maritime University), Dao Thi Linh (Hanoi Architectural University), Dau Xuan Huan (Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance), Hoang Duc Ton (Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology), Bui Linh Chi (Academy of Finance) and Nguyen Minh Hieu (University of Commerce) had a fierce competition to assert themselves and receive extremely valuable rewards: a cash prize of 1 billion VND, a prestigious career from the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) - the bank with the largest total assets in Vietnam and a scholarship from CPA Australia worth nearly 9,000 AUD, an IELTS scholarship from Alibaba English Center.

Starting from the TOP 6, the contestants entered the Earn and Accumulate station with two challenges: VR competition and multiple choice with 1,000 spectators. Quang Minh (Academy of Finance) excellently led the rankings, winning the prize of iPhone 17 1TB worth nearly 50 million VND. After the qualifying round, Dau Xuan Huan (UEF) became the first contestant to stop, leaving behind many regrets.

Black Hole is the next challenge. Candidates must decode financial keys through two layers of sub-codes, using three privileges. Nguyen Minh Hieu (TMU) is the only one to correctly decode two out of three keys.

According to the rules of the game, the remaining people's assets were divided in half, and the two people with the least money had to leave the game. Linh Chi (Academy of Finance) and Duc Ton (Academy of Posts and Telecommunications Technology) - two highly rated candidates had to stop. Ton declared: "This journey to here has been memorable enough for me. The remaining three astronauts, I really want to see how you will perform to be worthy of the role of being the recipient of 1 billion VND."

The remaining TOP 3: Minh Hieu, Mai Huong and Dao Linh continue to enter Investment Planet. Here, they have to debate with the Challenger Team including the Top 3 of the 2024 Coin Universe: Champion Doan Quoc Duy, Runners-up Le Van Minh and Dinh Tuan Duong.

The debate topic revolved around the hot issue: "Gen Z is not actively profiting from the cryptocurrency market, but is being emotionally exploited by market operators to maximize profits."

As a judge, Mr. Phan Minh Tam - Chairman of the Board of Directors of STI Holdings Investment Group, who holds a portfolio of more than 30 million-dollar startups in Vietnam and Southeast Asia - continuously asked quick-response questions to test the contestants' thinking and ability to adapt. The challenge team showed their superiority with sharp questioning arguments, excellently convincing the judges and winning.

This put the top 3 in a dangerous position - having to vote one person out. In the last 30 seconds of persuasion, Minh Hieu chose the tactic of ensuring benefits, promising to share a part of the prize money with his teammates. However, the result was surprising: he was the one who received two negative votes and had to stop.

At Toan Planet , the top 2 entered the final challenge called “Who is smarter than AI”. For the first time, the contestants had to face off directly with Multi-Agent AI – an autonomous AI assistant that took on the role of Judge. This was a comprehensive test of command creation, AI usage, along with decisive language thinking and the ability to generalize the nature of the problem.

Despite their best efforts, both candidates failed to pass the challenge with the highly difficult keyword: “Blockchain protocol” - Blockchain protocol, a set of rules and standards that govern how data is transmitted, processed and authenticated.

This result forced both of them to enter the extra round with 5 extremely difficult multiple choice questions. Chasing each other until the last minutes, Mai Huong surpassed with a difference of only 1 point, officially becoming the champion of Coin Universe 2025.

Although not majoring in Economics or Finance, Mai Huong has continuously proven her mettle through each round of competition.

In the Quarterfinals, when her experience was doubted, she resolutely fought for a fair chance to compete by drawing lots. As a result, Huong not only overcame all

i the highest amount of money and still decipher the final code. In the Semi-finals, although leading in Monee and could keep the same amount of money to continue, Mai Huong continuously put herself forward to prove her ability.

Instead of letting her starting point be an obstacle, the "little pepper girl" watched all 2 seasons of The Moneyverse and persistently improved her knowledge. Huong's journey is proof that starting point does not determine everything - with the spirit of learning and courage, there is no limit that cannot be overcome.

Speaking at the Final, Mr. Le Huy Hoang (Director of Human Resources Department - Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development) said: “In my opinion, this is an extremely useful playground for students. When young people have knowledge and skills in financial management, they will adapt well and understand how to operate the economy comprehensively; thereby creating a strong society. Therefore, financial education is a task that BIDV pays special attention to in carrying out its social responsibility. Accompanying The Moneyverse is how we create true values for the young generation - the future owners of the country.”

Entering its second season, The Moneyverse 2025 continues to affirm its appeal as a leading financial education program for Vietnamese students. The program attracts a large audience: nearly 250,000 followers on social networks (Facebook, TikTok, YouTube), about 130 million multi-platform views, more than 300 million views of program videos, and 2 million interactions on official media channels.

With the theme "Digital Galaxy", The Moneyverse 2025 is closely linked to the digital transformation trend and the Government's orientation of Digital Literacy. This year, the program has doubled in size with 54 participating universities/academies, diverse groups of majors (Police, Public Security, Architecture,... in addition to the group of Economics - Finance schools), and a group of unique candidates from 3 regions across the country.

Journalist Duong Ngoc Trinh, VTV Times said: “In just 7 short months, the contestants have overcome many fierce challenges. Maturity is the most precious reward for you as well as us. In season 3, Coin Universe will continue to bring more surprises to those who deserve it.”

Coin Universe 2025 not only found an outstanding champion but also left a legacy of determination and effort. The program has spread to 54 universities and academies nationwide, helping thousands of students to further their learning aspirations, contributing to shaping a new generation of Vietnamese students - more dynamic and knowledgeable.

The journey of 2 seasons has proven that financial education is not boring if it is told through human stories - where reason goes hand in hand with emotion, where knowledge becomes power. In that universe, each young person is an independent planet but revolves around the same valuable goals: knowledge, responsibility and courage.

LET'S REVIEW THE INTELLIGENT AND EMOTIONAL BATTLES IN THE FINAL MATCH