US, HK not digital asset firms' ‘either-or’ choice, despite Trump's crypto push

The United States and Hong Kong are not an “either-or” decision for digital asset firms that are carefully evaluating US President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency-friendly policy pledges alongside evolving global regulatory dynamics, industry experts said.

The crypto race has intensified worldwide since Trump promised to implement policies that would reverse years of stringent regulatory crackdowns in the US, which has drawn renewed attention from major players, including Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.

Avtar Sehra, CEO and founder of tokenization developer Libre Capital, said the industry has started to see a lot of people going back to the US — but other regions, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East, can offer advantages as well.

“If you want to be operating in the most important regions in the world, Asia and the US, you have to make a presence in New York and probably Hong Kong,” Sehra said. “I don't think it's going to be either-or.”

The financial veteran’s remarks were made during Consensus Hong Kong 2025 — the first time the conference has been held in Asia. The iconic cryptocurrency industry conference, which opened on Feb 18, also marked the first major crypto gathering since Trump’s inauguration. According to the event’s organizer, Coindesk, the three-day conference drew nearly 10,000 attendees, with 80 percent of them traveling from outside Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, legal experts and analysts remain cautious about how many of Trump’s pro-crypto pledges will materialize.

Joshua Chu Kiu-wah, a Hong Kong lawyer specializing in cybersecurity and technology disputes, said the return of crypto companies to the US is being driven by a “fear of missing out on an international scale”.

Chu likened the current buzz to the previous crypto bubble triggered by Tesla founder Elon Musk, who initially announced that bitcoin would be accepted for purchasing the company’s electric vehicles (EVs) — only to reverse the decision later and pop the bubble, citing environmental concerns.

The essence of Musk’s bitcoin move is now being duplicated by Trump, said Chu, who is also co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, adding that the same pattern is being repeated, but on steroids.

Ryan Yoon, lead research analyst at Tiger Research, shared similar views, saying he hasn’t observed any trend in crypto companies scaling back their operations in Asia.

“Trump speaks a lot but it's not (been) realized yet,” he said. “For now, it’s about watching and waiting to see where things are heading.”

To compete in the global crypto march, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission last week unveiled an industry roadmap that shifts its focus from licensing mechanisms to addressing liquidity issues, including exploring derivatives and margin lending.

The city has been positioning itself as a global digital asset hub since October 2022, when it released a policy statement outlining its ambitions. In June 2023, the SFC introduced a mandatory licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms.

According to the financial watchdog, 10 such licenses have already been issued.

Terence Pu, managing director of HashKey Exchange, a licensed platform in Hong Kong, said virtual assets’ derivatives trading will be an important driver of the city’s market growth.

“The (Hong Kong) market is expected to see an incremental growth of 30 percent to 40 percent, further enhancing liquidity and market vibrancy while also providing investors with better hedging tools,” Pu said.

In a groundbreaking development, the Hong Kong High Court recently allowed the use of blockchain technology to serve a tokenized injunction order targeting two virtual asset wallet addresses linked to suspected fraud.

The tokenized injunction order ensures that anyone attempting to transact with the wallets will see the injunction stored on the blockchain.

Chu, the lawyer responsible for a relevant case, called it a “real-world application” that sets Hong Kong apart, noting that such advancements have yet to make a similar splash in the US.

The crypto discussion is far from US-centric. Countries across Europe, as well as Singapore and Vietnam, are actively working on integrating crypto into existing monetary systems and leveraging it for economic growth while managing associated risks.

Citing the legal framework as a key issue in the crypto sector, Vietnam Blockchain Association Chairman Phan Duc Trung said there are great opportunities in asset tokenization.

According to a report by Boston Consulting Group released in March last year, the adoption of new digital exchange mediums — such as retail central bank digital currencies, tokenized deposits, and stablecoins — could boost Hong Kong’s GDP by an additional 0.5 percent annually over the next decade. The report estimated that Hong Kong has approximately HK$36 trillion ($4.63 trillion) worth of assets available for tokenization.

However, challenges in striking a balance between regulation and business expansion remain.

A company involved in crypto trading disclosed that its revenue from operations in Hong Kong has been meagre due to the city’s limited coin offerings and digital asset compliance rules. Under Hong Kong's current framework, retail investors are restricted to spot trading a select few cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum.

According to law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, there were more than 16,000 individual cryptocurrencies in circulation and daily trading volumes were estimated to be over $275 billion on more than 400 platforms as of July 2022.

In contrast, the company’s international branch, operating outside Hong Kong’s regulatory framework, generated revenue roughly 100 times higher than its local operations.