Huobi Crypto Exchange Denies Mass Layoffs and Exec Resignations

Major crypto exchange Huobi Global has denied mass layoff claims and allegations that two of its top executives have resigned. 

In a tweet on October 29, prominent Chinese journalist Colin Wu claimed that the company’s CEO Leon Li and Chief Financial Officer, Chris Lee, had resigned. Citing people familiar with the matter, he said the crypto exchange is also preparing for “large-scale layoffs.” 

“Justin Sun’s TRON team has taken over important departments of Huobi. Huobi has 1,600 employees, Justin Sun believes that there are too many people, and there may be large-scale layoffs,” Wu said. 

However, a spokesperson has reportedly denied the claims, noting that rumors regarding upcoming mass layoffs are “untrue” and that its senior management continues to perform their duties “as per normal.”

“Huobi Global’s senior management team is performing their duties as per normal, and rumors of large-scale layoffs are untrue. At present, Huobi Global enjoys a healthy cash flow, and the new shareholders have completed the capital injection,” the spokesperson allegedly said.

Nevertheless, the spokesperson did not entirely refute layoff plans. Citing the ongoing crypto market downturn, they said that the exchange might look into some cost-cutting without mentioning layoffs as an option. 

“Huobi Global is in a sound financial position at present, but due to the current market downturn, Huobi will also make adjustments to reduce costs and increase efficiency.”

Huobi Founder Sells Stake in the Company

As reported, Huobi founder and controlling shareholder Leon Li Lin announced in early October that he aims to sell his entire stake in the crypto exchange to About Capital Management, a Hong Kong-based assets management company.

At the time, Wu claimed that Tron founder Justin Sun was the core investor in About Capital, suggesting that he is the real buyer of the stake (which the report estimated to be around $1 billion). 

“WuBlockchain learned from multiple sources that Justin Sun is actually the core investor of this M&A fund,” the report said, adding that the Tron founder was at the delivery site in Singapore on October 8, where the deal took place. 

Notably, Huobi Global has been struggling with various challenges recently, particularly after China’s crackdown on the sector. The exchange initially blocked Chinese residents from the platform in 2021 and completed its exit from China, its biggest market, in 2022. 

Founded in 2013, Huobi is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges in terms of trading volume. According to CoinGecko, the exchange currently ranks 14th and has processed over $785 million worth of trades over the past 24 hours.