FTX’s CEO Denies Plans To Acquire Huobi Exchange

Twitter icon  •  Published 1 year ago  •  Nikolas Sargeant

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried has denied via Twitter that his firm doesn’t intend to acquire the Huobi exchange

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried has denied via Twitter that his firm doesn’t intend to acquire Huobi exchange. There have been rumours swirling that the second biggest exchange in the world by trading volume would look to expand its empire by buying a 60% stake in the Seychelles-based crypto exchange. 

What Is Happening With The Huobi Deal?

Huobi Group founder Leon Li has been in talks with various buyers regarding a sale of roughly 60% Huobi exchange in what would be an approximately $1 billion deal. Reports have been circulating that Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun and FTX’s Bankman-Fried have been first in line, having had preliminary talks with Huobi. 

The deal, which Li is hopeful will be completed by the end of the month, is based on the sale of a stake of the company, which is said to be valued between 2-3 billion dollars, with Bloomberg reporting the figure accordion to "people familiar with the matter."

A Huobi spokesperson recently confirmed that they were in talks regarding the sale. However, an FTX spokesperson denied those claims, and Tron’s Sun stated he’d had no negotiations with Li about the deal. 

Just today (29th August), Bankman-Fried Tweeted that FTX has no intention of buying the firm, which read, “No, we are not planning to acquire Huobi.”

Where Does This Leave Huobi?

Since the announcement, Huobi’s native token HT has seen a decline in the price of about 6%. A Huobi salesperson claimed that institutional investors have gotten cold feet and are looking to step away from the company. 

The company is one of the world’s largest exchanges, with a daily trading volume of $1 billion; the acquisition would be a significant move for any buyer. Bloomberg first reported speculation regarding this in mid-August. 

The Expansion Of The FTX Empire

FTX has been the exchange grabbing the headlines in 2022. Bankman-Fried’s company grabbed the number 2 spot, hurdling Coinbase just a few months ago. As well as that, we’ve seen FTX extend a lifeline to companies such as BlockFi and Voyager, who have been in deep water—we may even see those loans turn into acquisitions down the line.

Earlier this year, FTX purchased Japanese exchange Liquid and agreed to acquire Canadian exchange Bitvo. This is why we expect this Huobi saga to roll, with the ambitious Bankman-Fried unlikely to have left it there.

Author

Nikolas Sargeant

Nik is a content and public relations specialist with an ever-growing interest in Crypto. He has been published on several leading Crypto and blockchain based news sites. He is currently based in Spain, but hails from the Pacific Northwest in the US.