Huobi sets exact dates to terminate all activities in Mainland China
Huobi, the world’s sixth-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, said it will terminate all its services for mainland investors by the end of the year.
Huobi has already added China to its list of prohibited jurisdictions and banned Chinese investors earlier from other types of crypto trading amid Beijing’s stepped-up crackdown on businesses related to bitcoin. Back in October, the operator of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in China has completely shut down its derivatives trading for mainlanders.
Per local news outlet CGTN, users based in Mainland China will not be able to buy cryptocurrencies effective December 14. Then, all crypto operations will cease on the following day, while crypto trading will terminate by midday on December 31.
The report notes that customers will be able to log in and withdraw their money and assets within the next two years.
Huobi, a former ‘big three’ platform in China, has moved its spot-trading business to Gibraltar as it takes steps to leave the mainland, where the country’s regulators intensified a crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
Gibraltar’s financial services watchdog has already awarded the Seychelles-based company its bespoke license for blockchain firms using distributed ledger technology.
Huobi is anticipating a 30% revenue plunge after it has completely shut down its derivatives trading for mainland investors.
The announcement is hardly surprising
In September, Huobi said it would close Chinese users’ accounts by December 31, 2021. Binance and OKEx, which have wide Chinese user bases, also discontinued operations for mainland citizens and are no longer accepting user sign-ups with Chinese phone numbers, citing renewed regulatory guidelines in the country.
Huobi had a shareholder meeting on September 24. After the meeting, it was announced that the shareholders of the company had unanimously decided to scale back its operations and product offerings in China.
Huobi also suspended Bitcoin mining services and sales of mining equipment in the Chinese mainland in June.
One of the co-founders of the company said that in the past they actively communicated with the country’s regulators to find ways to still legally offer trading services in the country. However, he said that this time, there was no other way and no place for discussions.
Months before China’s latest crackdown, the exchange had already relocated substantial parts of its operations and staff out of the country. Huobi has been expanding aggressively into trading services in many other jurisdictions around the world, including Malaysia, Argentina, Russia, Korea as well as setting up an office in London.
