Key points to remember
- Huobi has confirmed its intention to reduce its workforce by 20%.
- The exchange also reportedly cut internal communication channels, required employees to receive their salaries in stablecoins, and canceled various employee benefits.
- Justin Sun also transferred over $100 million in stablecoins to the exchange earlier today.
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Huobi Global, the crypto exchange that was allegedly acquired by Justin Sun in October through an intermediary company, is plagued with all kinds of rumors. Huobi denied some of the claims and confirmed others.
Huobi in trouble?
Strange things are happening at Huobi.
The crypto exchange confirmed today that it would cut about 20% of its workforce. The news comes as Huobi reportedly shut down internal communication and feedback channels. The company also reportedly requires its domestic staff to register with Huobi accounts in order to receive salaries paid in stablecoins, and canceled various employee benefits.
“The planned layoff rate is around 20%, but it is not implemented now. With the current state of the bear market, a very small team will be maintained going forward,” a company spokesperson said. However, they denied rumors that internal communication and feedback channels were shut down, and said the claims about reduced employee benefits were incorrect.
According to CoinRanking, Huobi Global is currently the 10th largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume. In August 2022, Huobi founder Leon Li began publicizing his interest in selling his 60% stake in the company; In early October, the exchange had reached an agreement with Hong Kong-based investment firm About Capital, giving it control of a majority stake in the company.
Tron founder Justin Sun reportedly used About Capital as a conduit company to acquire Huobi. Sun denied the claims, insisting he only joined the company as an adviser. Interestingly, the string data seems indicate that Sun moved about $100 million in USDT and USDC to the exchange earlier today. He also has caught on Twitter to reassure Huobi customers, encouraging them to “ignore the FUD and keep building”.
Disclaimer: At the time of writing this article, the author of this article owned BTC, ETH, and several other crypto assets.
