Huobi Hit With Insolvency Rumors

His Excellency Justin Sun isn’t doing too hot.

That’s because Huobi, Sun’s crypto exchange and the 16th largest exchange in the world by trading volume, might be in trouble.

Fear, Unrest, and Doubt

The problems at Huobi began like most problems in crypto have recently: with the collapse of FTX.

The demise of SBF’s monster resulted in many people losing confidence in centralized exchanges, especially unregulated ones such as Huobi.

People are on edge right now and any rumor of trouble will send them heading for the exit.

The rumor for Huobi came on January 4th, as it was reported that Huobi’s internal communication channels were shut down, year-end bonuses were canceled, massive layoffs were on the way, and all salary payments would now be in stablecoins.

That FUD was enough to send people scrambling to get out, and get out they did, with $60 million leaving the exchange on January 6th

What Now?

Justin Sun and Houbi are both saying that everything is all good. But it’s a bit difficult to believe that after all that went down in 2022. SBF, Alex Machinsky (Celsius), and Do Kwon (Terra) all said the same things before their empires dissolved.

News that Huobi Korea is planning to split from Huobi and change its name, tied with the fact that Sun’s USDD stablecoin still hasn’t regained its peg, doesn’t make us feel any better about the situation either.

At the end of the day, Huobi is an unregulated centralized exchange. And 2022 taught us a whole lot about the dangers of trusting exchanges, especially unregulated ones.

If you have money in Huobi, play it safe and withdraw to a more secure exchange, or, even better, a cold wallet.