The exit of Huobi comes barely a month after another exchange, OKCoin announced its intention to close operations in China. Both exchanges have announced the closure of their China subsidiaries in the capital Beijing. The Beijing Huobi Tianxia Network Technology resolved to dissolve and consequently applied to cancel its registration last Thursday. With the dissolution, creditors have 45 days to declare their claims to the liquidation entity. Li Lin, the founder, and CEO of Huobi Group, who controls Beijing Huobi, is also in charge of the clearing and liquidation process. With the dissolution, four of Beijing Huobi’s five mainland subsidiaries have already shut down. However, a Huobi rep indicated that it was not viable from a business perspective to keep running the company. Last month, Beijing Lekuda, the operator of OKCoin, filed for dissolution to close its Beijing subsidiaries.
Efforts to comply with Chinese laws
Huobi’s decisions come after the company unveiled several measures to comply with Chinese laws. As a means of curbing speculation, the exchange imposed a 24-hour condition before a user can withdraw cryptocurrencies in over-the-counter transactions. Notably, the company also suspended its Bitcoin mining services and the sale of mining equipment in mainland China. The move followed the crackdown by Beijing on mining activities and crypto trading. Since then, most operators have left the country as authorities term Bitcoin a potential threat to the financial system stability. Other crypto businesses to vacate the country include Bishijie, an online community for Chinese cryptocurrency investors. Furthermore, BTCChina, which once operated as an exchange in China, also announced its exit. [coinbase]
