Huobi to Be Acquired by About Capital, Co-Founder Leon Li Sells Stake in Crypto Exchange: All Details

Huobi was once the most active Bitcoin trading platform on the globe, before its retreat from China, once its biggest user base and revenue source, in recent years.

Huobi to Be Acquired by About Capital, Co-Founder Leon Li Sells Stake in Crypto Exchange: All Details

Photo Credit: Facebook/ Huobi Global

Huobi became the world's most active Bitcoin exchange by charging zero transaction fees

Highlights
  • Huobi stopped providing services to Chinese users after crypto ban
  • It has expanded to overseas markets including Turkey, Brazil
  • Leon Li will no longer be involved in any aspect of Huobi's business
Advertisement

Huobi Global's controlling shareholder Leon Li has sold his entire stake in the cryptocurrency exchange operator and will cease to be involved in its operations, according to the company. Li sold his holding in Huobi to a buyout firm managed by About Capital Management (HK)Co., the company said in an e-mailed statement. The co-founder will no longer be involved in any aspect of Huobi Global's business, according to a Huobi spokesperson. Bloomberg reported the intended sale in August.

Once the most active Bitcoin trading platform on the globe, Huobi has in recent years retreated from China, once its biggest user base and revenue source. Li's exchange stopped providing services to Chinese users after Beijing declared crypto transactions illegal last year. The bourse has since accelerated its expansion into overseas markets including Turkey and Brazil, but is fighting bigger rivals like Binance and FTX.

“Following Huobi's exit from the Chinese mainland market in 2021, we have accelerated our globalization push amidst a challenging market environment, which adds to the impetus for Huobi to seek a new shareholding structure with a global vision and international resources,” Li said in the statement.

The transaction has no impact on Huobi's core operations and business management teams, Huobi said.

Huobi was co-founded in 2013 by former Oracle Coder Li, who quickly transformed the Beijing startup into the world's most active Bitcoin exchange by charging zero transaction fees. In 2017, Chinese regulators told local exchanges to stop hosting trades between fiat and digital money, the first of a stream of pronouncements that quelled a perceived threat to the country's financial stability.

Li had at different times ceded daily management as he dealt with health issues. The current chief executive officer is Hua Zhu, an ex-Alibaba technologist who joined Huobi in 2020.

In an interview for a 2020 Bloomberg News story, Li said he had never received any official notice barring him from leaving China but he's chosen not to, unsure of the risks that would entail.

© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.


Will crypto tax hurt the industry in India? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

China Chip Manufacturing Industry Targeted With Sweeping New US Semiconductor Export Rules: All Details
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »