Huobi to Halt Derivatives Trading for New Zealand Users

Cryptocurrency exchange giant Huobi will cease offering its derivatives trading services to New Zealand customers two months after the company obtained registration from the country’s regulators.

• In an announcement on Tuesday (August 16, 2022), Huobi said it would restrict users in New Zealand from accessing derivatives trading services starting from August 23, 2022.
• According to Huobi, its action was in “commitment to local compliance policies.” Consequently, affected customers will not be able to use functions like coin-margined futures, options, exchange-traded products (ETPs), coin-margined swaps, and USDT-margined contracts.
• The crypto exchange also said it will update its user agreement to add New Zealand as a “restricted jurisdiction,” will allow users in the country to close out their positions from August 23, and further prevent them from opening new derivatives positions on the aforementioned date.
• Meanwhile, the latest development comes after Huobi obtained registration on New Zealand’s Financial Services Provider Register (FSPR) in June.
• The registration with the FSPR enabled the company to “operate a regulated foreign currency exchange and money or value transfer services in New Zealand, which supports crypto OTC trading services.”
• As previously reported by CryptoPotato, Huobi’s founder Leon Li is looking to sell his stake in the company for close to $3 billion.
• Some of the interested buyers are rumored to be crypto heavyweights, such as Justin Sun and Sam Bankman-Fried.