Huobi buys crypto exchange Bitex to expand in Latin America
Huobi, the world’s sixth-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has bolstered its commitment to Latin America with the acquisition of Bitex.
The deal, whose financial terms were not shared, allows Huobi to expand into Latin America where Bitex has an extensive network, namely Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
As part of its acquisition process, Huobi plans to integrate Bitex’s exchange operations with its global platform. However, the eight-year startup will retain its branding and continue to be independently run by its current management team.
“Since Huobi Group first entered the Latin American market, we have seen remarkable growth there and are bullish on our prospects for the region. We are pleased to partner with an established player like Bitex, as we look to grow our footprint in Latin America. Our partnership will enable more users to trade with Huobi’s proven security, liquidity, and stability,” said Jeffrey Ma, Global Head of M&A at Huobi Group.
The premier crypto platform said the takeover strengthens its breadth and depth as the company moves to capture the potential of digital assets across a region with more than 660 million people. For this purpose, Huobi plans to add more fiat currencies and work with local partners to expand their ecosystem into Latin America.
Per its own statistics, Latin America ranks fifth in the world for cryptocurrency adoption and consistently captures between 8% and 10% of global cryptocurrency activity. The region saw a ten-fold increase in the use of cryptocurrencies over the last two years. Leading the way are Venezuela and Argentina, ranking seventh and tenth, respectively, in the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index published by Chainalysis.
Bitex CEO Francisco Buero added: “Bitex was founded to protect the value of our users’ money, in the wake of major financial crises in Latin America. Having grown rapidly after eight years of successful operations, we believe our partnership with Huobi Global will not only support our expansion, but also help us better serve our customers, enabling them to access a broader range of digital assets on Huobi Global’s platform. Additionally, Huobi Global’s strong track record in security will help safeguard our important mission as we continue to operate as a borderless exchange.”
Huobi, a former ‘big three’ platform in China, is making inroads into new regions as it anticipates a 30% revenue plunge after it has completely shut down its trading for mainland investors. Huobi also suspended Bitcoin mining services and sales of mining equipment in China in June 2021.
