President Donald Trump recently remarked that “China is getting into it very big right now,” referencing the country’s deepening involvement in bitcoin and digital assets, despite a mainland ban on trading and mining since 2021.
Mainland ban and capital controls
The People’s Bank of China enforced a sweeping prohibition on all bitcoin transactions and mining operations in September 2021, driving exchanges offshore and curtailing domestic activity.
However, this ban did not eliminate the underlying demand for capital mobility and alternative settlement methods.
Many of these activities have shifted to Hong Kong’s more permissive environment or into gray market stablecoin channels.
Hong Kong’s licensed market and global access
Hong Kong has taken a contrasting approach by launching a licensing framework for virtual asset trading platforms and approving spot bitcoin ETFs in 2024.
The city’s Securities and Futures Commission recently expanded access, allowing platforms to tap global liquidity pools, making Hong Kong a regulated gateway for institutional and retail investors.
These developments blur the lines between Hong Kong and mainland policy, fueling perceptions of unified Chinese advancement in bitcoin markets.
Beijing’s CBDC ambitions and stablecoin adoption
Beijing’s e-CNY pilot has become the world’s largest central bank digital currency project, surpassing ¥7 trillion in cumulative transactions by mid-2024. Hong Kong now accepts e-CNY, further integrating Chinese digital currency infrastructure with global finance.
At the same time, Chinese exporters are increasingly using stablecoins like USDT for cross-border payments, taking advantage of enforcement gaps and necessity, even as such activity remains officially unsanctioned.
Mining and hardware production
Although the 2021 crackdown slashed domestic bitcoin hash rate, China’s influence persists through its dominance in mining hardware production, with firms like Bitmain supplying global networks.
Cambridge data indicates some mining operations continue in remote Chinese provinces or via relocated hardware overseas.
Trump’s comments, while simplifying, reflect a multi-jurisdictional Chinese presence in digital assets: a mainland ban, Hong Kong’s regulatory carve-out, a massive CBDC rollout, and ongoing commercial stablecoin and mining activity.
