Huobi will permanently close operations in Thailand

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Seychelles-based digital currency exchange Huobi is set to permanently shut down its subsidiary in Thailand from July 1. The exchange has informed customers to withdraw their digital assets from the platform before the deadline. 

The shutdown is due to a decision by the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revoke the exchanges license last September. A notice on the website of the exchange informed the public of this saying: “Due to the SEC decision, Huobi Thailand is no longer an authorized digital asset exchange in Thailand. We will be shutting down the platform permanently on July 1, 2022.” 

The exchange said it has been trying to reach clients to withdraw their funds since September. Customers will still be able to contact the Thailand-based subsidiary for withdrawals after the deadline date. However, the notice states that the subsidiary will no longer be associated with or legally bound to its parent company Huobi Global after the permanent shutdown. 

Huobi’s stay in Thailand has been a short-lived one. It first got licensed in 2019 and began operating in 2020. Following an investigation earlier in 2021, The Thai securities regulator said it had found “irreparable” regulatory breaches in the exchange’s operations. 

The findings at the time have resulted in the Thai Ministry of Finance also revoking the exchange’s license just this week. The Ministry of Finance cited Huobi’s failure to meet the SEC’s standards for consumer protection as the justification for its action. 

Huobi’s history of regulatory troubles 

Thailand is not the first jurisdiction the exchange has had regulatory troubles in. It has been shut down in the U.S. since 2019 and had to exit China in 2021 following the government crackdown on all digital assets firms.

While speaking with CNBC, Huobi Global co-founder Du Jun said closing its operations in mainland China cost the exchange about 30% of its profits last year. He also revealed that Huobi is planning a comeback in the U.S. market, but as an asset manager. 

Amidst the troubles, Huobi has still managed to maintain its status as one of the biggest digital currency exchanges globally. Last week the exchange announced that it will now be trading BSV in Japan.

Meanwhile, it has not been the only exchange to face regulatory troubles. 

For the larger part of 2021, Binance, the biggest exchange by trading volume globally, faced multiple regulatory hurdles. Binance’s troubles have continued to this year as its U.S. subsidiary is currently facing a class-action suit in connection with the Terra crash.

Watch: CoinGeek Backstage with BSV Blockchain Association’s General Counsel and Chief of Staff Marcin Zarakowski

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