The Hong Kong-based investment firm About Capital Management (ACM) announced in early October 2022 that it had acquired Huobi, a crypto exchange founded by Leon Li in China in 2013. The acquisition was orchestrated by Justin Sun, the founder of TRON and Poloniex. Sun assumed a position on the Huobi Global Advisory Board but said that he did not hold any controlling ownership of Huobi. In May 2023, ACM said it no longer controls Huobi; its current owners are still unknown!
Despite rumors, Justin Sun has consistently denied being the controlling owner of Huobi. He claims that he is an investor who assists in the operation of the exchange. The refusal to disclose the true owners and their intentions only deepens the uncertainty surrounding Huobi’s future.
Protos, a media outlet focused on crypto, obtained Hong Kong corporate documents related to various Huobi and Justin Sun entities and information about ACM. However, none of these documents indicate the entity or individual currently holding a controlling interest in the company. In May, Protos contacted ACM to inquire about the acquisition, but the firm stated that it was “no longer involved with Huobi in any way.” They declined to provide further details.
Huobi remains silent about its ownership. It served Chinese users for years despite the country’s repeated crypto bans. It became, along with OKEx and Binance, one of China’s largest exchanges. All this while denying it operated in China. Huobi serves millions of users worldwide, with a business presence covering over 160 countries and regions across five continents. Justin Sun aims to have 100 million Huobi customers by the end of 2023.
Early this year, Justin Sun said he would move Huobi‘s Asia headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong to capitalize on the city’s attempts to establish itself as a digital asset hub. In May 2023, Huobi HK formally requested a virtual asset exchange license from the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission. Huobi became the first member of the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Consortium (HKVAC), an organization dedicated to providing credit ratings for crypto asset exchanges and trading products.
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