Eric Trump, the second-oldest son of U.S. President Donald Trump, praised the impact of Hong Kong and China on the cryptocurrency industry during a fireside chat with David Bailey at Bitcoin Asia on Friday.
"There is no question that you have made an unbelievable mark on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies," Eric Trump said to the Hong Kong audience, responding to Bailey's suggestion that China is the "other Bitcoin superpower," alongside the U.S. "There's no question that China is a hell of a power when it comes to this world and doing it well."
The younger Trump gave the same credit to the Middle East, highlighting the "massive way" the region has embraced cryptocurrency and the pace of development in the sector. He also praised the passion for the industry in a couple of small, unnamed countries in South America, but said that "the United States right now is winning the digital revolution."
His comments come despite mainland China banning institutional crypto trading and exchanges in 2017, and declaring all crypto-related transactions illegal in September 2021, targeting platforms and intermediaries rather than individuals. However, crypto ownership remains legal, and peer-to-peer activity continues in a legal gray zone, often tolerated in practice.
China also banned bitcoin mining in June 2021, but operations persist in some regions due to local protection and enforcement gaps. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is embracing crypto under a regulated pilot regime, and Chinese officials are increasingly exploring stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.
"Hong Kong has been positioned by Beijing to be the place where they can experiment with their bitcoin policy in their digital asset policy," Bailey said. "So they've identified this as the meeting point for the world to discuss this topic as it relates to China."
President Trump's crypto embrace
The U.S., in contrast, has embraced the crypto industry under President Trump, recently passing stablecoin legislation, establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve, and aiming to make the country the "crypto capital of the world" and a " bitcoin mining "powerhouse."
The Trump family itself has become increasingly involved in the industry directly, much to the criticism of their political detractors amid conflict-of-interest claims. Eric Trump was in Hong Kong to promote his American Bitcoin venture with Hut 8, while also highlighting his work with the DeFi project World Liberty Financial and his advisory role at the Japanese bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet.
The younger Trump also reflected on his journey into the crypto space following the widespread debanking of Trump family businesses during the Biden administration.
"People always ask me, if the banks hadn't gone after your family, if they hadn't shut down all your accounts, do you think you'd be doing this?" Eric Trump recalled. "I said, I don't think I would be here … I don't think I would have fallen into cryptocurrency the same way."
"I started meeting some of the greatest people I've ever met in my life, who believe in the future, believe in technology, who are great people who wanted to build dynamic companies that could transform the future," he continued. "They often say the enemy of your enemy is actually your friend. That is how the Trump family became friends with this community.”
Million-dollar bitcoin
Eric Trump said he now spends 90% of his time in the crypto community, reiterating his prediction that bitcoin will hit a price tag of $1 million. "I really believe in the next several years bitcoin hits a million dollars," he said. "Buy right now, close your eyes, hold it long term, do not get rid of it. It is the greatest asset in the world. Everybody is buying bitcoin. We haven't even scratched the surface of what Bitcoin is gonna be."
Bitcoin is currently trading for $110,111, according to The Block's BTC price page, down 2.6% during the past 24 hours and 12% from its all-time high of around $124,500 on Aug. 14.
Meanwhile, President Trump is pushing for a summit with Xi Jinping as the U.S. and China look to ease trade tensions after Trump's global tariff announcement in April.
"I would certainly love for them to talk about bitcoin," Eric Trump said on Friday, but added that "they've probably got larger things to talk about."
