Crypto’s next bull run will come from the East: Gemini co-founder

Crypto's next bull run will start in Asia, according to Cameron Winklevoss, an American investor, and co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini.

His comments have come amid an increase in enforcement action and looming crackdowns from United States regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“My working thesis atm is that the next bull run is going to start in the East,” said Winklevoss in a Twitter post on Feb. 19.

"It will be a humbling reminder that crypto is a global asset class and that the West, really the US, always only ever had two options: embrace it or be left behind.”

"It can't be stopped. That we know," he added.

According to Chainalysis, Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) was the third largest cryptocurrency market in its index for 2022. Citizens from these areas received $932 billion in cryptocurrency value from July 2021 to June 2022.

CSAO was also home to seven of the top twenty countries in 2022's index: Vietnam (1), the Philippines (2), India (4), Pakistan (6), Thailand (8), Nepal (16), and Indonesia (20).

My working thesis atm is that the next bull run is going to start in the East. It will be a humbling reminder that crypto is a global asset class and that the West, really the US, always only ever had two options: embrace it or be left behind. It can't be stopped. That we know.

— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) February 19, 2023

In his Twitter thread, Winklevoss saidthat governments who fail to offer clear rules and sincere guidance on crypto will be "left in the dust," and miss out on "the greatest period of growth since the rise of the commercial Internet,” adding:

"And it will mean missing out on shaping and being a foundational part of the future financial infrastructure of this world (and beyond).”

Winklevoss is neither the first, nor last, to suggest that the United States' approach to crypto will drive away the industry, or that Asia could kick off the next crypto growth cycle.

Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong said the stringent actions from U.S. regulators, including the SEC, could further drive crypto businesses offshore.

Meanwhile, an independent market analyst on Twitter — known as GCR — has also prophesied that "China, (and Asia in general) will fuel the next run," in a Jan. 8 post to their 147,300 followers.

"It will take quite some time to melt Western cynicism towards this space, but the East is ascending and yearning to flex."

I believe China, (and Asia in general) will fuel the next runIt will take quite some time to melt Western cynicism towards this space, but the East is ascending and yearning to flexYou should be hanging out in WeChatMany future pumps will be on coins none of your circle know

— GCR (@GCRClassic) January 9, 2023

Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of crypto derivatives giant BitMEX, made a prediction last October that the next bull run will start when China moves back into the market and went one step further to say Hong Kong has a vital part to play in this process.

Hayes argued that Hong Kong might become the testing ground for Beijing to experiment with crypto markets and act as a hub for Chinese capital to find its way into the global crypto markets.

At the time, he said "China has not left crypto — it has just been dormant."

Related: Hong Kong wants to become crypto hub despite industry crisis

Earlier this year, Hong Kong's financial secretary, Paul Chan made a Jan. 9 speech at the POW'ER Hong Kong Web3 Innovators Summit, where he revealed lawmakers passed legislation to set up a licensing system for virtual asset service providers in December.

As a result of the changes in legislation, a "Chinese Coins Pump" narrative has been gaining traction as speculation grows over whether the regulatory easements in Hong Kong will lead to a massive surge for Asian-based crypto tokens.