Huobi’s Cloud Wallet To be defunct: DeFi multi-token wallet dies

• Huobi announced on February 13, 2023, that the Huobi Cloud Wallets platform would discontinue in May 2023. 
• The cloud wallet was launched in October 2021, allowing users to manage digital assets without a primary key.

Major companies discontinue their products for either cost-cutting or to divert their focus elsewhere. Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi recently announced the discontinuation of their Huobi Cloud Wallet platform in May 2023. Referring to “strategic and product adjustments.”

Discontinuation of the platform

Huobi’s support page has an announcement saying that the maintenance and upgrades regarding their multi-token wallet service will stop officially from February 13, 2023. The company is urging the users to use the wallets to transfer their cryptocurrencies, tokens and NFTs to main Huobi accounts or other wallet addresses. 

However, the withdrawals and transferring functions will work for the next three months. The users are forewarned from transferring any digital assets to the cloud wallets. The official date for its decommission is May 13, 2023. 

The Huobi Cloud Wallet

In May 2022, Huobi Wallet was renamed to iToken after a $200 million investment from Huobi Group. Soon to be discontinued, Huobi Cloud Wallet was launched in October 2021 as an adjoining feature of the Huobi Wallet. This feature would allow users to manage their digital assets without using a private key. 

The inception of this custodial wallet service was with the pretext of providing easier access to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications or dApps and services. The wallet allowed its users to hold tokens without the hassle of managing private keys with a third-party management system, keeping the users’ keys in escrow. 

Huobi Global users were acknowledged for enjoying seamless synchronization with the cloud wallet services, token transfer across platforms, and access to numerous DeFi projects. 

Huobi – Delisting tokens and layoffs

Huobi announced on January 11, 2023, about delisting 33 tokens from the exchange, effective from January 16, 2023. The main reason for delisting was the project teams did not update their quarterly report on time. They also failed to upload semi-monthly session reports twice in a row. 

All the trading pairs of delisted coins failed to register a trading volume of more than $50,000 for 15 consecutive days. There were also issues of serious violation of Huobi regulations. 

Earlier, there was a rumor that the company might be shredding 40% of staff; Huobi came forward, confirming that they are having layoffs of 20% of staff as a part of restructuring on January 6, 2023. They also established a new organizational structure when new shareholders took over. 

There were also rumors that the crypto exchange is soon to be insolvent; Huobi cleared the air with a representative stating:

“We are aware of the comments regarding the Huobi App and the safety of user assets. Such unfounded and inflammatory rumors not only damage Huobi’s brand image, but ultimately affect the interest of Huobi users.”

Overall, Huobi will not be joining the infamous troop of FTX, Three Arrows Capital and Terra anytime soon. The company seems to be managed by experts and is doing great at staying above the tides that can pull them down. 

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

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