I was monitoring the movement of Chinese cryptocurrencies this week and found it interesting to note how they reacted to news about possible trade negotiations between the US and China. You know that feeling that the market is watching every political move? Yeah.

American authorities from the Trump administration are expected to meet with Chinese officials later this week to discuss tariffs and trade. Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, and Jamieson Greer, US Trade Representative, are traveling to Switzerland. Of course, they don’t expect a big deal right away, but it’s the kind of signal that influences market sentiment.

And then Chinese cryptocurrencies come into play. TRON, NEO, VeChain, and Conflux had positive movements yesterday, oscillating between moderate gains. OKB, in particular, showed a much more significant recovery recently. These tokens from projects developed in China or strongly connected to the country seem to be reacting to this opening in negotiations. It makes sense: any news about US-China relations directly impacts how traders view Chinese assets.

What really caught my attention was discovering that despite everything, China still dominates the export of ASIC miners. The US now leads in hash rate, but the hardware infrastructure still mainly comes from China. And there’s more: a 2024 study from the University of Cambridge indicates that about 21% of the global Bitcoin hash power still comes from China, even with the official ban. Mining is happening in places like Inner Mongolia, where electricity is cheap and renewable energy is accessible.

This raises an interesting question. If negotiations progress and China changes its stance on cryptocurrencies, what happens? You already have an underground Chinese crypto mining economy established, with infrastructure ready and expertise accumulated. Some experts speculate that China might end up engaging more strategically in the future, even if not officially.

The point is: Chinese cryptocurrencies are at a turning point. Trade negotiations could be the missing catalyst. It’s worth keeping an eye on how TRON, NEO, VeChain, Conflux, and other projects from this region evolve in the coming days. The crypto market has always reacted quickly to geopolitical changes, and this time should be no different.