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China's Crypto Policy: Ban on the Mainland, Future in Hong Kong!
China and Hong Kong have different crypto strategies in 2025: ban vs. regulation. Find out more about the developments.
China's Crypto Policy: Ban on the Mainland, Future in Hong Kong!
In 2025, there will be a clear contrast in crypto policy between China and Hong Kong. While China maintains a strict ban on crypto trading and mining, Hong Kong is pursuing a regulated strategy that focuses on investor protection and clarity. Crypto trading has been banned on the mainland since 2017, and mining of these digital currencies has also been banned since 2021. These measures are supported by the People’s Bank of China, which prioritizes both financial stability and capital controls.
In the summer of 2025, the Chinese government took increased action against illegal, cross-border transactions with stablecoins such as Tether. Companies in mainland China are prohibited from holding Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets. Nevertheless, e-CNY, China's digital central bank currency, has been being tested in several cities since 2019. This currency is positioned as an alternative to private cryptocurrencies in order to minimize the influence of the crypto market.
Hong Kong's Divergent Approaches
Unlike China, Hong Kong has developed a clear plan to create a regulated cryptocurrency market. In April 2024, the first Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs were launched in Asia, allowing direct inflows and outflows of crypto. The Stablecoins Ordinance, which came into force on August 1, 2025, is one of the first comprehensive licensing systems for stablecoin issuers worldwide. This Ordinance calls for strict requirements, including full backing by high-quality reserves and the exclusion of algorithmic stablecoins.
A week after the Ordinance came into force, the first global registry for the tokenization of real-world assets was launched. The Hong Kong government also launched a consultation on stricter regulations for over-the-counter trading and crypto custody. Hong Kong is increasingly seen as a key trading window for the Asian market, despite the influence of American spot ETFs on Bitcoin prices.
Future prospects
Hong Kong regulators predict the local ETF market could grow to a fifth the size of the US market. This shows the differences in the markets: China remains closed and is primarily focusing on the introduction of e-CNY and combating unauthorized crypto trading. Hong Kong's market, on the other hand, is open and capable of fostering innovative approaches to tokenization and regulation.
It remains to be seen how the long-term interaction between these two approaches will develop. A crucial factor will be Beijing's willingness to allow Hong Kong's regulated crypto experiments. While China maintains its strict regime, there is a possibility that Hong Kong will emerge as a model for a clearly structured and secure market environment for crypto assets and digital currencies.
In summary, the gap between China and Hong Kong's strategies in the area of crypto regulation is clear and will continue to play a central role in the digital currency discussion in the region. The Newsbit article illustrates how different the approaches can be, while Stack Overflow explains the technical differences in different strategies, which may also be relevant for future developments.