Bitcoin Conference Asia – Hong Kong, August 28, 2025- At the heart of Bitcoin Conference Asia’s main stage, a powerful conversation unfolded under the theme *“Global Game Theory: The Response to America’s Changing Bitcoin Policy.”* With the United States now positioning itself as a self-declared “Bitcoin superpower,” the ripple effects are being felt across continents, from Singapore to Pakistan, from policy corridors to crypto exchanges. This panel, moderated by Greg McCarty, Co-Founder and Co-President of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, brought together four influential voices shaping the global Bitcoin narrative: Anndy Lian, blockchain advisor and author; Jeremy Tan, Singaporean political candidate and Bitcoin advocate; Bilal Bin Sakib, Minister of State for Blockchain and Crypto in Pakistan; and Nentur Chao, Global CEO of Bitmart Exchange.
What emerged was not just a discussion about regulation or technology but a geopolitical reckoning. As the U.S. accelerates its pro-Bitcoin agenda, countries and companies worldwide are reevaluating sovereignty, financial infrastructure and national identity through the lens of digital gold.
Greg McCarty opened the panel with a bold statement. In the last twelve months, the world has seen a massive shift in global Bitcoin policy and it started in Washington. He outlined a series of transformative developments since early 2025. The United States now has a firmly pro-Bitcoin administration that has issued executive orders declaring its intent to become a global Bitcoin superpower. The country has established a strategic Bitcoin reserve worth ten billion dollars. It has passed the Genius Act, a landmark piece of stablecoin legislation, and is moving forward with comprehensive cryptocurrency market structure legislation. Support for the industry is now unified across Congress, federal agencies and the executive branch.
This is not merely a policy shift. It is a strategic signal to the world. Bitcoin is now recognized as a national asset of critical importance. The implications are profound. Countries can no longer afford to treat Bitcoin as a speculative or fringe technology. It has entered the realm of monetary sovereignty, energy policy, youth empowerment and international diplomacy.
Bilal Bin Sakib, representing Pakistan, the fifth most populous nation on Earth with 250 million people and a youth population that makes up 70 percent of the total, shared his country’s ambitious vision. Pakistan is turning its challenges into opportunities by transforming liabilities into digital gold. With between forty and fifty million active crypto users and two thousand megawatts of excess electricity, the nation is redirecting surplus power toward Bitcoin mining. The government has announced a national Bitcoin strategic reserve using bitcoins seized by law enforcement. It has also created the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, an independent body separate from the central bank and securities commission, to foster innovation in the crypto space.
Sakib emphasized that Pakistan’s strength lies in its human capital. The country is the third largest freelancer market in the world. If Pakistan’s youth were their own nation, they would rank as the tenth largest country globally. With fifty thousand IT graduates entering the workforce each year, the foundation is set for a homegrown tech revolution. The goal is not just to participate in the global crypto economy but to lead it by building billion dollar protocols from within Pakistan. At the same time, the country faces serious socioeconomic challenges, including one hundred million unbanked citizens. Blockchain technology offers solutions not only for financial inclusion but also for improving government efficiency and combating counterfeiting. Bitcoin is important, but blockchain is the infrastructure that will power the future.
Jeremy Tan, who ran for Parliament in Singapore on a platform advocating for Bitcoin in national reserves and became the best performing independent candidate in fifty years, framed Bitcoin as a matter of national survival. Singapore lacks natural resources and depends heavily on its status as the fourth largest foreign exchange hub in the world. But if financial liquidity begins to migrate on chain through stablecoins, yield protocols and decentralized markets, the rationale for maintaining physical financial centers comes into question.
Tan pointed to a troubling statistic. Singapore had only one initial public offering on its local stock exchange in the past year. As capital flows increasingly toward Bitcoin and decentralized platforms, traditional financial hubs may find themselves obsolete. He also highlighted a cultural truth common across East Asia. There is a deep seated preference for hard assets such as property. However in land constrained societies like Singapore and Hong Kong, this pursuit of real estate has created a generational burden where each new cohort must pay more than the last. This dynamic is unsustainable, especially in an era of artificial intelligence and economic uncertainty.
Bitcoin offers an alternative. It is a scarce, portable and globally accessible hard asset. But adoption requires education. Tan recently visited El Salvador and met with President Bukele and his team, including Stacy Herbert of the Bitcoin Office. He was impressed by their national education campaigns that teach children the nature of money from an early age. This is something often taken for granted in Asian cultures. Tan believes that financial literacy must be prioritized, not only for youth but also for government officials and bureaucrats who shape policy. Many in power hold strong opinions about Bitcoin, but those views are often based on misinformation or fear. Without proper understanding, progress stalls. To address this, Pakistan and El Salvador have begun a joint initiative in Bitcoin diplomacy, sharing frameworks and training government officials to make informed decisions.
Nentur Chao of Bitmart Exchange, which serves over twelve million users worldwide, provided a real time perspective from the private sector. He confirmed that the shift in U.S. policy has created a positive halo effect across the industry. Institutional adoption is accelerating, with public companies increasingly adding Bitcoin to their treasuries. However, user behavior tells a more complex story. After a surge in trading volume during the first quarter of the year, spot Bitcoin transactions have declined by twenty to twenty five percent. Derivatives trading, on the other hand, has remained steady, indicating that institutions continue to use these tools for hedging and strategic positioning. Among retail traders, eighty percent of derivative positions are closed within twenty four hours, pointing to a high frequency, speculative mindset.
Beyond the data, Chao shared a deeper trend. Governments around the world are reaching out to exchanges and industry leaders not to impose restrictions but to learn. He has participated in numerous closed door discussions with quasi governmental bodies seeking to understand market risks, compare regulatory models and refine their own policy drafts. There is a clear demand for knowledge, but a notable lack of coordination between nations. Countries are working in isolation, repeating the same mistakes and missing opportunities for collaboration.
Chao praised Hong Kong’s Leap 2.0 regulatory framework as a leading example of forward thinking policy. From the outset, the framework allows for the tokenization of real world assets such as government bonds, ETFs, commodities and renewable energy credits. This creates immediate utility and attracts institutional capital. It moves the ecosystem from zero to one quickly and enables further innovation. Such an approach, he argued, is essential for any jurisdiction that wants to be a serious player in the digital asset economy.
Anndy Lian offered a measured but strategic perspective. While he applauds the speed of U.S. policy development, he cautioned that not every country is ready to follow the same path. Legislation in America is advancing at an extraordinary pace, but much of Asia is still in a catch up phase. Nations like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are making progress, but they are doing so step by step. First, they are tokenizing traditional assets such as stocks and corporate equity. Then they are establishing stablecoin regulations. Only after these foundations are in place will they consider holding Bitcoin in national reserves.
The key, Lian emphasized, is building a strong foundation. You cannot construct a sustainable Bitcoin economy on weak regulatory or educational ground. He criticized what he called performative policy making, where high profile figures visit a country, take photos and leave without substantive dialogue. This is public relations, not policy. What is missing is a serious, standardized global conversation. He proposed the creation of an international body for digital assets, similar to the International Civil Aviation Organization or the Bank for International Settlements. Such a body could establish baseline regulatory standards for exchanges, custody solutions and stablecoins, allowing countries to collaborate rather than compete in confusion.
Lian also urged governments to take decentralized finance and decentralized networks seriously. Too many policymakers view DeFi as a haven for illicit activity, but this reflects a lack of understanding. These systems represent the next evolution of finance and must be studied, regulated wisely and integrated thoughtfully.
As the panel drew to a close, each speaker offered a vision for the next phase of Bitcoin adoption. Nentur Chao highlighted Hong Kong’s Leap 2.0 framework as a model for enabling real world utility from day one. Anndy Lian called for the creation of a global regulatory body to bring coherence to a fragmented landscape. Jeremy Tan proposed that every country establish a dedicated Ministry of Blockchain and Bitcoin to serve as a single point of contact for international coordination. Bilal Bin Sakib reiterated that Bitcoin must be used to solve real problems, from financial inclusion to youth unemployment and government inefficiency.
Greg McCarty tied these threads together by reflecting on the mission of the Bitcoin Policy Institute. The organization was founded because no one else was doing the difficult work of educating policymakers. You cannot make sound decisions about a technology you do not understand. For years, the institute focused simply on explaining what Bitcoin is and how it works. Only after that foundation was laid could they begin advocating for strategic reserves and national adoption.
The takeaway is clear. The Bitcoin revolution is not just about code or capital. It is about clarity, education and long term thinking. As the United States leads with bold policy, the rest of the world is not merely copying but adapting, innovating and building solutions suited to their unique contexts. From Pakistan’s energy to digital gold pipeline to Singapore’s existential pivot, from Hong Kong’s institutional on ramps to global calls for cooperation, the game has changed.
Bitcoin is no longer a question of if but of how. And the rules of this new global game are being written in real time, not in Washington alone, but in boardrooms, parliaments and classrooms across Asia and beyond.
Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.
Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.
