China’s Biggest Crypto Exchange Selects Singapore As Asian HQ
SINGAPORE – Huobi Group, which operates the largest cryptocurrency exchange in China, has chosen Singapore as its headquarters in Asia, reported CoinDesk on Tuesday afternoon (30 November, SGT).
A Huobi representative told CoinDesk that the headquarters will oversee operations in Southeast Asia. The company’s Co-founder Du Jun also told Bloomberg that Southeast Asia is an enticing market as the number of trading users there surged by 4-fold in October 2021.
Since May, Huobi has relocated most of its employees to its office in Singapore after Beijing announced a ban on cryptocurrency. To follow Chinese regulations, the company stated that it will expel all users from mainland China by the end of 2021.
Moreover, Du Jun had moved to the city-state, while the other co-founder, Leon Li, is still in China, the company revealed. Reportedly, Li is subject to border restrictions by the Chinese authorities.
However, Huobi told CoinDesk that its Singapore office will not cater to Singaporean clients. It will operate under Huobi International, where Li is the majority stockholder. Bloomberg also reported that Atlas Value and venture capital firm Zhen Fund are shareholders as well.
Huobi Tech, a separate legal entity based in Hong Kong that was also established by Li, has put up a subsidiary known as Huobi Singapore that will serve Singapore users. As such, it has applied for a digital token payment license from Singapore’s central bank.
“Singapore has positioned itself as a leader in cryptocurrency adoption and has attracted crypto companies and fintech alike,” commented Ulisse Dellorto, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at research company Chainalysis in an interview with Bloomberg.
