Trump’s crypto support could push China to revive crypto regulation

HashKey’s Xiao Feng believes Trump’s crypto stance could accelerate China’s adoption of cryptocurrencies.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policy may eventually cause China to reconsider its stance on digital assets, HashKey Group chairman Xiao Feng said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

Xiao suggested that Washington’s clear commitment to promote the cryptocurrency industry could accelerate Beijing’s timeline for adopting crypto businesses. Despite China’s ban on crypto trading, mining and initial coin offerings, Xiao believes geopolitical factors, including US sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, could encourage a change in China’s position.

“China perhaps needed five or six years from now to accept this situation. [crypto businesses] before these events occur. But now, due to these factors, this period may be shortened to two years.”

Xiao Feng

During his campaign, Trump promised to position the US as a global leader in crypto; specifically, he promised to create the “crypto capital of the planet” and remove regulatory hurdles seen as anti-cryptocurrency. Xiao sees this as a potential catalyst for change in China, which sees cryptocurrencies as a threat to its financial stability and a source of criminal activity.

But there are no signs that Beijing is shifting its focus away from state-controlled digital currency. Recently, China introduced a central bank digital currency payment card that works like a traditional debit or credit card, while also displaying dynamic QR codes for payments and real-time balance updates.