Share this article

Crypto Exchange Huobi's DeFi-Focused Blockchain Released in Public Beta

The exchange is eyeing use cases for its tech across areas such as tokenized asset issuance, payments, identity verification and lending.

Updated Sep 13, 2021, 12:22 p.m. Published Mar 2, 2020, 12:30 p.m.
Huobi

Huobi believes its upcoming blockchain will provide financial institutions with a framework for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and services.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the The Protocol Newsletter today. See all newsletters

The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange announced Saturday its proprietary network, Huobi Chain, had been successfully deployed on its testnet. Developed in collaboration with layer-1 protocol provider Nervos, Huobi said its new blockchain will allow businesses and regulators to determine the rules of the road for the emerging DeFi space.

"With Huobi Chain, we want to provide the decentralized framework that facilitates industry-wide collaboration, which is critical to the widespread adoption of DeFi," said Ciara Sun, Huobi vice president for global business.

Entities in the financial services sector, including banks, will be able to use Huobi Chain to develop DeFi applications that have anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance baked into the chain itself, the exchange said.

A Huobi spokesperson told CoinDesk the firm hasn't yet entered talks with banks or other financial institutions, although that's part of the plan once Huobi Chain has successfully passed the public beta phase.

The technology would allow regulators to maintain oversight of the distributed ledger through Huobi Chain's delegated proof-of-consensus (DPOS) algorithm. A decentralized identification system (DID) allows users to create identity profiles that can be accepted and verified by regulators in multiple jurisdictions.

The exchange is eyeing use cases for its tech across areas such as tokenized asset issuance, payments, identity verification and lending.

Although Huobi Chain will support multiple cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether , the exchange's native Huobi Token will be the protocol's sole utility token. Support for other types of digital assets will be added over time, the exchange said.

Huobi Chain's mainnet launch is expected to take place later this year.

More For You

Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Pudgy Title Image

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.

What to know:

Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

More For You

Deus X CEO Tim Grant: We aren't replacing finance; we're integrating it

Deus X CEO Tim Grant (Deus X)

The Deus X CEO discussed his journey into digital assets, the company's infrastructure-led growth strategy, and why his Consensus Hong Kong panel promises "real talk only."

What to know:

  • Tim Grant entered crypto in 2015 after early exposure to Ripple and Coinbase, drawn by blockchain’s ability to improve traditional finance rather than replace it.
  • Deus X combines investing and operating to build regulated digital finance infrastructure across payments, prime services, and institutional DeFi.
  • Grant will be speaking at Consensus Hong Kong in February.