China could leverage crypto control over Trump family wealth

Opinion by: Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association

China’s control over cryptocurrency liquidity in Hong Kong gives it unprecedented power over the Trump family’s crypto wealth. This leverage lets Beijing influence the family’s financial fate — and potentially US-China relations — through market moves. As Eric Trump visits Hong Kong, this crypto-political nexus signals a new era of global power.

Cryptocurrency is no longer seen as just the new financial innovation around the block. Virtual assets have become powerful geopolitical instruments determining the fates of nations. 

As Imran Khalid , “China, by contrast [to the US], has played the long game. It chose dialogue over drama, and principle over provocation.” 

China’s rise and growing control and dominance over the Web3 economy were similarly marked by its carefully orchestrated through a parallel hedge in Hong Kong. When considering this level of control, combined with the Trump family’s unprecedented and increasing reliance on digital assets for wealth, it reveals a subtle yet decisive form of influence that Beijing can wield. 

Trump family’s crypto wealth surge

US President Donald Trump () during his first presidency, saying it’s “not money” and “based on thin air.” This position had made an obvious U-turn by 2025.

In a Fox News interview with Donald Trump Jr., he revealed that the family “didn’t have a choice” but to get into crypto after with them after the Jan. 6 “nonsense.” As a politically exposed person (PEP), this was a telling turnaround. 

Banks and financial institutions are usually stricter when dealing with PEPs because their prominent positions usually mean they become targets for bribery and corruption, yielding a higher risk of financial crime entanglement with illicit money laundering.

Since taking the plunge into crypto, the Trump family has shifted dramatically in favor of crypto as a single engine of personal wealth. In July, it was reported that the , accounting for 40% of their $2.9 billion net worth.

These ventures include , which has successfully raised hundreds of millions of dollars through token sales, including the and memecoins. Eric Trump’s involvement in American Bitcoin has further amplified the family’s crypto exposure. 

This crypto exposure is unprecedented for political families in the US, if not the entire world. It has further concentrated wealth in an asset class known for its hyper-volatility, which, in turn, is now an industry that is intertwined with Hong Kong’s licensed exchanges — exchanges that are at the epicenter of China’s crypto liquidity strategy. 

While this environment introduces heightened financial risk, it simultaneously empowers China with a critical lever.

China’s crypto liquidity strategy 

China’s announcement to via Hong Kong’s licensed exchanges is not just law enforcement housekeeping but a core strategic move in Beijing’s global crypto ambitions. This liquidity injection plan, coupled with the LEAP Digital Assets Policy 2.0, aims to turn Hong Kong into the dominant virtual asset hub that China can utilize as a market price vehicle. 

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The “national team” is a term that is well-known in Hong Kong’s (and greater Asia’s) financial circles. It comprises sovereign wealth funds and other state-backed entities, with assets reportedly well over $1 trillion. Initially formed in response to the market crash in 2015, the national team poured $17 billion into the markets and was credited for lowering the risks by 30%-45% during the intervention. 

Fast forward to 2025, the national team is evidence that China’s plan to liquidate seized crypto is not merely an “offloading” action. Instead, entities like the national team can similarly buy up any liquidating crypto, control market supply and demand to stabilize, inflate or deflate asset values as Beijing desires.

China’s grand strategy is dynamic and flexible. It’s a sharp contrast with the US, which has maintained a passive hodl-only reserve policy, lacking the flexibility to influence liquidity or respond effectively to price volatility. 

To this end, China remains one of the few countries with the unique combination of a sizable liquidatable pool of virtual assets and a national team operating outside the confines of mainland China, including the sovereign wealth fund in Hong Kong with over $1 trillion on standby. 

This dual capability gives China a remarkable means to control valuations, capable of pushing prices to rise, fall or stabilize at Beijing’s discretion. Considering the increasing number of companies and countries following the Bitcoin treasury strategy, Beijing will have unprecedented influence over such corporations and nations. 

Through Hong Kong, China has created a key to cementing the Trump family’s legacy, either to catapult his family wealth to the moon or turn him into the beggar king if he misbehaves. 

US policy softens toward China while pressuring others

China’s simultaneous control over multiple stages of the virtual asset market value chain enables Beijing to efficiently manage the supply and demand (which crypto relies heavily on for its valuation) and pricing dynamics all at once, effectively commanding the crypto market (much like its preferred style) rather than being a mere participant in it. 

For example, the Trump administration’s tough stance toward India for importing Russian oil is contrasted by its leniency toward China, which, as noted by many reporters, is a far larger importer of Russian energy. 

The selective pressure reveals China’s greater geopolitical leverage, which, on the surface, appears to be all about rare earths but, deeper down, may include financial sway over politically connected actors such as the Trump family. 

Eric Trump’s upcoming homage to Hong Kong’s forthcoming crypto conference symbolizes this crypto nexus. His participation underscores how tightly the First Family’s financial and political fortunes are sewn into the fabric of China’s strategic crypto market. 

Opinion by: Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.