Huobi Korea, a domestic crypto exchange, is looking to become a stronger presence in the local market. As part of their plan, they have decided to alter their name to simply Huobi and acquire shares from their parent company, Huobi Global.
The Korean exchange intends to gather input from internal and external employees through a call for a new mission and will finalize the task after considering these opinions, as reported by local media.
Huobi Global Its Parent Company Planing “Equity Agreement”
Both exchanges are negotiating an equity agreement. Because Li Lin, the founder of Huobi Global, owns the majority stake in Huobi Korea, while Chairman Cho Kook-bong and Korea Real Estate Trust also have sizable shares.
Having acquired 72% of the total shares in the Korean exchange, Cho Kuk-bong has succeeded the founder of Lilin and become its chairman. Within the virtual asset industry, Kuk-bong is seen as an owner of a significant crypto farm.
Huobi Global was widely known as a global virtual asset exchange that rivaled Binance and FTX. Established in 2013 by engineer Li Lin, it has become the largest crypto exchange in China since its rebranding. It signified to many in the industry as the drawing of a definitive line between the exchange and other major platforms.
Li Lin’s exchange recently experienced a crisis as demand for Proof of Reserve (POR) increased. As a result, the Korean exchange decided to distance itself from it. This follows the bankruptcy of FTX due to a lack of liquidity and the implementation of POR by virtual asset exchanges to protect customers from being unable to withdraw funds.
The Korean exchange has been affected by actions taken by Huobi Global in the past, such as the suspension of transactions for five months due to a change in its corporate location. Its decision to change its name and purchase a stake may be an attempt to establish independence in the Korean market.
According to the report, an industry insider said:
Huobi Korea has suffered from foreign exchanges, especially the image of a Chinese exchange. It can be interpreted as trying to show that it is a ‘domestic exchange’ that is as safe as it is.
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