Bitcoin trade in China Huobi intends to return to the US market, but this time with an emphasis on asset management.

Bitcoin trade in China Huobi intends to return to the US market, but this time with an emphasis on asset management.

Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is preparing to re-enter the U.S. market more than two years after it suspended operations to comply with laws, one of the company’s co-founders told CNBC.

But the corporation might not build an exchange and instead instead focus on other sectors like as asset management, after failures last time around, according to Du Jun.

“In 2018, we tried to join the U.S. market but we immediately withdrew ourselves because we didn’t have a strong commitment to the business at the time and we didn’t have a solid management team in the U.S.,” Du stated according to a CNBC translation of his comments in Mandarin.

“I expect asset management to be a bigger industry than exchange, which reflects the conventional finance sector as well,” he told CNBC, adding, “I don’t think exchange is a crucial aspect for entering the U.S.”

Du could not clarify which company Huobi will launch first in its re-entry to the U.S. A step back into the U.S. market might place Huobi in competition with companies like Coinbase. Huobi is one of the top 10 biggest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume globally, according to CoinGecko.

Huobi first launched a bitcoin exchange business in the U.S. in 2018. The following year, the firm claimed it would freeze U.S. user accounts and added that it will return to the market in a “more integrated and impactful fashion.”

Huobi Group owns an exchange company and an asset management business called Huobi Tech, which is listed in Hong Kong.

The U.S. campaign is part of a wider worldwide development plan following several years of tightening crypto regulation in China, the country where Huobi was created. Last year, Beijing looked to fully wipe out cryptocurrency mining in China and tighten down on loopholes that allowed Chinese citizens to trade.

By the end of 2021, Huobi retired existing mainland Chinese users’ accounts and picked Singapore for its Asia headquarters.

Du added that Huobi has lost roughly 30 percent of its revenue from shutting down customers in China. But that has given the corporation a further drive for international expansion. It is contemplating putting up a headquarters in Europe, in addition to its U.S. effort.

“As for how much resources or people we would deploy for the international market, we have no other alternative but to use our full strength to continue forward in our worldwide strategy,” Du added. “In the past, we would explore a new market and we can easily withdraw ourselves if it doesn’t work out. Now, Huobi has no other alternative than to go global.”

Chinese regulation

Du applauded China’s stringent regulation on cryptocurrency since it targeted incidents of gaming and money laundering. The Huobi co-founder argued that the rule protects smaller investors. He said, however, other countries should not replicate China’s strategy because investors might be more mature in other markets.

“In China, when people lose in their investment, occasionally extreme people would go leap from the regulator’s building and investors are less mature. The government used a similar approach with Covid restriction. It has sensed a danger and has taken precautions to protect the safety of the people,” Du added.