Huobi Korea may sever ties with global brand, plans to go independent

The ongoing crypto winter has interrupted the life of several operational companies in the industry, including Huobi Exchange. Seychelles-based crypto exchange Huobi is feeling the effects of market dynamics. Amid the circumstances, the South Korean Huobi unit explores an independent work module. Huobi Korea could sever ties with its global parent company, which, if materialized, could also result in the entity being renamed.

Huobi crypto exchange expanded into the South Korean market in 2017. With its national headquarters located in Seoul, Huobi exchange started offering crypto exchange services in South Korea in 2018.

Leon Li, the co-founder of Huobi Global, owns 72% of the shares of Huobi Korea. These shares could be bought by Cho Kook-bong, the chairman of Huobi Korea if and when the decision is officially finalized.

Huobi Global joined the list of several exchanges like Binance and KuCoin to have its reserves audited in December, following the dramatic crash of the crypto exchange FTX.

At the time, it was reported that of the $3 billion that was stored in Huobi Global’s reserves, 43.3% of the holdings were stored as Huobi’s native HT token.

Last week however, the HT token fell by 11% and is currently priced at $4.85 (about 398 rupees), according to CoinMarketCap. Over the past month, the HT token has fallen by 30%.

Amid the turbulent dynamics of the crypto market, Huobi Global also announced that it was laying off 20% of its workforce.

This could be why Huobi Korea might consider exploring an independent operation in the nascent crypto market.

South Korea’s crypto market touched the valuation of $46 billion (about Rs. 3,66,318 crore) at the end of 2021, with the number of users reaching almost 5.58 million, or about 10% of the country’s population, according to a study by the Financial Services Commission of South Korea.

South Korea is taking a rather crypto-friendly approach in order to establish itself as an industry hub.

The Asian nation, for example, has decided to delay imposing a 20% tax on crypto revenue until 2025.

Not only the crypto industry, but the Asian tech hub is also exploring ventures in the metaverse industry.

The South Korean government plans to invest more than $177 million (about Rs 1,372 crore) to support metaverse projects that will also create job opportunities in the sector.

Huobi Korea, which had become the country’s second-largest stock exchange in January 2021, may be looking for ways to protect its business from ongoing problems at Huobi Global.

In 2021, Huobi Korea obtained certification from the Korea Internet and Security Agency after the exchange proved to be compliant with the country’s financial laws.

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