Chinese crypto giant Huobi picks Singapore as Asia HQ (Updated)

Update (Nov. 30, 3:30 p.m. SGT): This article was updated to add Huobi co-founder’s comment on the new headquarters.

Huobi Group – the parent company of China-based crypto exchange Huobi Global – has picked Singapore as its Asian headquarters after the company was banned from its home country, according to its co-founder Du Jun. It is also set to build a European headquarters in France or the UK by 2023.

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Earlier this month, the company announced that it will remove Singaporean users from its platform to comply with the country’s regulations. “All Singapore-based users should take immediate action to close out all active positions and withdraw all digital assets,” the firm advised in a statement.

Its position will be taken by its subsidiary, Huobi Singapore, which is still in the process of getting a license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Registered as FEU International Private Limited, the subsidiary is formally under Huobi Technology Holdings Limited.

“We would like to assure local users that Huobi Singapore is here to stay for good, and we are excited to launch a new platform to better serve the needs of the local market,” said Edward Chen, executive director and CEO of Huobi Singapore, in a separate statement.

While Huobi didn’t elaborate on the regulation issue, fellow crypto exchange Binance previously said that it is limiting service access to Singapore users after getting a MAS warning.

Founded in 2013, Huobi Global says it has tens of millions of users across 100 countries and regions. Aside from Singapore, it has offices in Japan, South Korea, and China. In September, China’s cryptocurrency crackdown prompted the firm to block new signups and retire accounts from the country by the end of the year.