Huobi Denies Mass Layoffs and Departure of Executives

Reports have emerged claiming that the former CEO and CFO of Huobi Global, a leading crypto exchange that has been purchased by a Hong Kong-based investment company, have resigned, and that large-scale layoffs will be carried out, Wu Blockchain wrote on October 29, citing individuals familiar with the matter. However, this report was then denied by company officials.

Huobi said that the senior management team was performing their duties normally, and that rumors of impending large-scale layoffs were not true. The firm claimed that it has solid cash flow and that new shareholders have completed capital injections. In the future, it says it will continue to increase investment in exploring international markets, recruiting and trying to innovate business. Moreover, it bluntly said that due to the current depressed market, it needs to carry out cost reductions and efficiency improvement.

Justin Sun, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur and the founder of Tron, a blockchain DAO ecosystem, was reportedly the core investor of Huobi’s acquirer. Although Sun said he only holds the position of its global advisor, he didn’t rule out the possibility of one day acquiring Huobi and perhaps even bringing the exchange back to mainland China.

SEE ALSO: Justin Sun Is Reportedly the Core Investor of Huobi Acquirer About Capital

Wu Blockchain said that Sun’s Tron team has taken over important departments at Huobi. The exchange has 1,600 employees now and Sun believes that this is too many people, leading to the layoff decision.

On October 15, Huobi released its September activity report, showing that the firm burned 411,000 Huobi Tokens (about 1,863 million USDT) in September 2022, down 1.23% from the previous month. Sun described Huobi Tokens as the “core value” of Huobi, stressing that the token has to be “pushed hard” if the exchange wants to be one of the “most important” trading platforms in the world.