Huobi, the third largest crypto Exchange by 24-hour trading volume, is reportedly setting up an office in London as it continues its expansion overseas.
The Singapore-based exchange has made an official statement on the matter. It further states that Lester Li and Josh Goodbody will head Huobi UK operations in the City, assuming the roles of European Exchange Director and Chief Compliance Officer, respectively.
Huobi’s expansion comes as cryptocurrency adoption accelerates in the region, following significant growth in the United Kingdom and Europe. The trading venue reported previously that the trading volume from the UK already ranks fifth in the world, making the country its largest market in Europe.
Setting up in the UK will also provide access to London’s finance and technology talent pools for Huobi and allows the exchange to benefit from its newly-launched Blockchain accelerators, Huobi Labs and the Huobi Ecosystem Fund.
After China cracked down on cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs late last year, the company has shifted most of its business operations to Huobi.pro, which is headquartered in Singapore. It also expanded globally and now has offices in South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong.
Seems a lucrative market
Despite regulatory uncertainty, the firm also attempts to make inroads into Canada and U.S. with plans to open offices in Toronto and San Francisco.
Huobi handled nearly $450 million of virtual currency trades during the past 24 hours, making it the world’s third most active fee-charging crypto exchange, according to Coinmarketcap.com, which aggregates trading statistics reported by exchanges.
Cryptocurrency seems a lucrative business in London, and Huobi is not the only major exchange on the move to set up operations in the Fintech-friendly hub. Earlier in March, UK subsidiary of San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase was granted an e-money license by the financial watchdog FCA.
Chern Chung, Huobi’s senior business development manager for Europe, told Finance Magnates in March that the exchange envisions “the UK becoming a hotbed for cryptocurrency innovation, especially with the UK Finance Minister declaring his commitment to foster the growth of this sector.” He added that the establishment of the crypto assets task force “will not only help manage the risks around crypto trading but will also allow UK citizens to participate in one of the biggest financial revolutions of our time.”
Lester Li, Director of Huobi Exchange, commented on the launch: “The launch of Huobi Group’s office in London is in response to the high demand we have seen in Europe, which was perfectly illustrated this month with huge turnouts at our Amsterdam and London quant trading summits. Our OTC and Quant Trading services are significant enhancements to the Huobi product suite and we look forward to rolling out other services to improve the trading experience for Huobi customers in the future.”
