Huobi Rebrands, Expands Globally Amid Crypto Industry Challenges

It’s a tough time for many crypto companies, especially for centralized exchanges attempting to weather the fallout from the collapse of FTX. The exchange’s recent meltdown has put a downer on the industry, prompting increased skepticism of exchanges.

However, despite the recent market turmoil, Huobi, a nine-year-old world-leading virtual assets exchange, aims to reshape its focus to onboard users from even more countries and regions. Formerly known as Huobi Global, the exchange has initiated a rejuvenation phase, with a multi-pronged approach to persevere amid tougher market conditions—and prepare for the next potential bull market.

Renewed buzz around Huobi began in earnest when Tron founder Justin Sun, one of the biggest and best-known crypto whales, joined the exchange as an advisor in October and quickly accumulated “tens of millions” of Huobi’s native token, HT.

But that was just the start of Huobi’s plans. The Huobi Token (HT) will gain enhanced utility on the exchange as Huobi plans to prioritize it as a trading pair in its new listings. Those listings will relate to projects that are deemed to be cutting-edge with significant market potential, the firm said. The firm also plans to offer the opportunities to users to invest in early-stage projects, while ensuring safety to prevent scams that have befallen the industry in the past.

Huobi’s expansion plans include not only more digital asset listings, but also more physical ventures as the firm—which has multiple global offices—works to expand its international footprint.

Huobi plans to establish a presence in the Caribbean, a region that has gotten much more attention in crypto lately as Sun became a diplomat for Grenada last year. The exchange said that it will also ramp up its investments in Southeast Asia, Europe, and other regions. Huobi will explore strategic mergers and acquisitions to expand its ecosystem, as well.

Although the exchange is going only more global, it has dropped “Global” from its name to keep things simpler. A Huobi spokesperson explained that the name relates both to the company’s current sentiment and its ambitions.

The name Huobi consists of two Chinese characters: “火” and “必.” “The first represents perpetual vitality and passing this same vitality through future generations in Chinese culture,” the spokesperson said. And the second means “determination to win—representing Huobi’s ambition to return to the top three positions in the industry.”

On the technical side, Huobi plans to integrate the technology and resources offered by the BTTC cross-chain bridge and two public chains, HECO and TRON, in a bid to build its own public chain ecosystem.

None of this is possible without proper regard to regulatory compliance and the need to keep customers safe. Huobi has financial licenses in numerous countries and regions—a necessity as it serves more than 50 million users in over 160 countries.

However, the world has billions of people—and Huobi says it is ready to onboard the next wave of millions to crypto through its revamped platform.