Bitcoin Asia 2025 Hit By Withdrawals As Hong Kong Officials Avoid Trump Connection: Report

A senior Hong Kong regulator and a lawmaker have pulled out of this week’s Bitcoin Asia ￰0￱ withdrawal came after they were reportedly advised to avoid interactions with Eric Trump, son of US President Donald ￰1￱ Yip Chee-hang, executive director of the HK Securities and Futures Commission, is no longer listed as a keynote ￰2￱ Johnny Ng Kit-chong, a technology entrepreneur, was also removed from the ￰3￱ names had appeared on the site in mid-July, shortly after organisers announced Eric Trump’s ￰4￱ of Yip, Clarence Shen, an SFC manager who oversees fintech policy, will represent the regulator at the two-day ￰5￱ and Futures Commission executive director Eric Yip and lawmaker Johnny Ng have removed themselves from the upcoming Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference featuring US President Donald Trump's son Eric.

“There is a request to lawmakers asking them not to attend the forum that… ￰6￱ — Aaron Busch (@tripperhead) August 28, 2025 Absences At Bitcoin Asia Linked To Official Guidance On Crypto Caution Eric Trump is scheduled to appear in Hong Kong on Friday for two sessions titled “All in on Bitcoin” and “Bitcoin Takes Over the World.” He is co-founder of mining venture American Bitcoin and has been involved in World Liberty Financial, a Trump family-backed project focused on digital ￰7￱ reported Wednesday that Ng said his withdrawal was linked to personal matters that clashed with the conference agenda. Meanwhile, the SFC described Yip’s absence as the result of a business trip.

Further, the report said officials had been advised to keep a low profile on crypto ￰8￱ particular, they were urged to be cautious when stablecoins and cross-border capital flows are under ￰9￱ guidance came ahead of the conference, which is being held in Hong Kong for the second time since last year as the city continues its push to establish itself as a hub for digital ￰10￱ Tariffs On Hong Kong Imports Add Pressure Amid Escalating Trade Dispute Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the move aimed to avoid perceptions of cooperation with Donald Trump. Further, he noted that the Trump family’s involvement in crypto businesses has previously drawn ￰11￱ particular, critics argue it blurs the line between personal interests and public ￰12￱ Asia, organized by BTC Inc, is one of the largest industry gatherings ￰13￱ event attracts investors, miners and policymakers from across the ￰14￱ conference comes as Hong Kong balances its ambitions to grow as a digital asset hub with the political realities of strained China-US ￰15￱ timing shows the sensitivity of today’s political ￰16￱ his return to the White House in January, Donald Trump has placed crypto at the center of his economic agenda.

Moreover, he has unveiled new regulations that supporters believe could transform the US into the “crypto capital of the planet.” At the same time, his administration has intensified trade tensions. Specifically, Washington has imposed tariffs of up to 145% on Hong Kong ￰17￱ a result, the city now sits at the center of the latest phase of the tariff war between the US and China.