Chinese crypto exchange Huobi is planning to make its way back into the cryptocurrency spotlight.
Like the Terminator, Huobi Is Saying “I’ll Be Back”
Huobi shut down a few years ago as a means of complying with new regulations set forth by state regulators in China. One of the company’s co-founders – Du Jun – says that the firm is learning from past mistakes and that it’s looking to fix all the missteps it took. One of the big goals of the company is to focus on areas such as asset management, which it says it didn’t do enough in the past.
Jun explained in an interview that prior, Huobi was all about being an exchange, though now it wants to ensure more crypto-related services are offered to customers looking for custody and options of this nature. He stated:
In 2018, we tried to enter the U.S. market, but we quickly withdrew ourselves because we didn’t have a strong commitment to the market at that time and we didn’t have a good management team in the U.S. I expect asset management to be a bigger business than exchange, which echoes the traditional finance market as well. I don’t think exchange is a necessary element for entering the U.S.
At the time of writing, it is unclear which division Huobi is looking to launch first, though it looks like the company is eager to compete with Coinbase and several other leading digital exchanges that have expanded their services over the years. These companies are no longer just crypto exchanges; they instead work like crypto brokers. They provide custody, offer loans, and seek to ensure all crypto customers get access to the products and tools they need.
In terms of trading volume, Huobi has consistently ranked as one of the top ten digital currency exchanges in the world. It first launched a U.S.-based exchange in 2018, though things didn’t turn out as expected. The following year, the company said it was looking to freeze American crypto accounts and that it would reenter the market at some time in a more “integrated and impactful fashion.”
Du continued with:
As for how many resources or staff we will deploy for the international market, we have no other choice but to use our full strength to go forward in our global strategy. In the past, we would explore a new market and we can always withdraw ourselves if it doesn’t work out. Now, Huobi has no other choice but to go global.
Hopefully Other Countries Don’t Learn from China
Du has said he hopes other countries don’t follow in his native China’s footsteps given the country’s approach to crypto has been intense. He says:
In China, when people lose their investment, sometimes extreme people would jump off the regulator’s building and investors are less mature. The government took a similar approach for COVID restriction. It has sensed danger and has taken measures to protect the safety of the people.
