US Relaxes Sanctions on Hong Kong Officials Amid Crypto Ambitions
The US Treasury Department quietly allowed a national emergency declaration tied to Hong Kong to expire on July 17, 2026, effectively removing sanctions from nine officials linked to Beijing's crackdown on the city's autonomy.
The expiration of the emergency declaration, which was established by Executive Order 13936 in July 2020, specifically removed nine individuals from the Treasury's OFAC sanctions lists. This move comes roughly two months after President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in May, sparking questions about why an administration that loudly accuses China of election meddling is going soft on officials who dismantled Hong Kong's democratic institutions.
Critics see this as a diplomatic concession to the Chinese government, which has been courting institutional capital with a regulatory framework that contrasts sharply with mainland China's outright crypto ban. Hong Kong has been on a mission to become the regulated crypto capital of Asia, launching its licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms in 2023 and approving spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in 2024.