Huobi to halt services in Singapore after China exit

Huobi Global, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volumes, is winding down operations in Singapore shortly after exiting China.

Huobi will have shut down accounts of all Singapore-based users by the end of March next year, the company officially announced late Tuesday.

All Huobi clients based in Singapore should close active positions and withdraw their digital assets before March 31, 2022, Huobi said. The exchange will also gradually halt access to Huobi services in Singapore before March, the announcement notes.

The move is part of an effort to comply with relevant regulations by local financial authorities, the firm said. According to Huobi’s user agreement, the company’s services are prohibited for persons located in the United States, Canada, Japan, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, Singapore, Crimea, Mainland China, Kyrgyzstan, the United Kingdom and others.

“The company may suspend or terminate your account or use of the service, or the processing of any digital asset transaction, at any time if it determines in its sole discretion that you have violated this agreement or that its provision or your use of the service in your jurisdiction is unlawful,” the agreement reads.

Singapore has been emerging as a major global cryptocurrency hub recently, with local regulators issuing multiple licenses to legalize crypto trading in the country. According to Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the authority is putting “very strong regulation” to strengthen Singapore’s position as the world’s crypto center.

Huobi declined Cointelegraph’s request for further comment. 

Related: ​​Huobi Group is moving to Gibraltar following China crackdown

Some other global regulators have also flagged Huobi’s operations. In September, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission temporarily shut down Huobi’s local subsidiary and recommended revoking its operating license with the Ministry of Finance.

The news comes shortly after Huobi was forced to exit China when local authorities announced a major crypto ban in late September. As previously reported, Huobi plans to have closed all Chinese accounts in Mainland China by Dec. 31. Founded in China in 2013, Huobi is notably tied with the country. Before the ban, its Chinese operations made up at least 30% of its total trading volumes and revenues.