Coindesk Logo

Huobi Focuses on Expansion, Sponsors Contest to Send One Winner Into Space

Huobi Focuses on Expansion, Sponsors Contest to Send One Winner Into Space

Huobi Focuses on Expansion, Sponsors Contest to Send One Winner Into Space

The Chinese blockchain company is celebrating its eighth anniversary with a space flight contest and an industry forum featuring former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan.

The Chinese blockchain company is celebrating its eighth anniversary with a space flight contest and an industry forum featuring former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan.

The Chinese blockchain company is celebrating its eighth anniversary with a space flight contest and an industry forum featuring former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan.

AccessTimeIconNov 3, 2021, 12:34 PM
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:09 PM
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Chinese blockchain company Huobi Global has kicked off a month-long eighth anniversary celebration that will include a series of events and prizes, including a trip to space for one winner. The celebration comes as Huobi’s cryptocurrency exchange winds down operations in mainland China after a government crypto ban.

In the flagship campaign for the anniversary, Huobi will offer one winner a trip to the “outer perimeters of Earth.” The company says the contest is open to all Huobi Global users.

Huobi didn’t specify the name of the company that would facilitate the space trip. Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX are companies that are leading the race to put paying passengers in space. Last month, Huobi sent two crypto experts to the environment-focused Oceans 4.4 retreat in the British Virgin Islands at the home of Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson.

Back on Earth, Huobi will host its annual online industry forum on Nov. 8, which features panels with economists, government officials and crypto business leaders. The list of speakers this year includes former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Global expansion will be a unifying theme to the anniversary celebration in the wake of China’s crypto ban. Huobi stopped accepting new user registrations in mainland China in late September. The company will gradually retire existing accounts by the end of the year.

Huobi Global has said it already derives 70% of its overall revenue outside of China, and its global expansion has targeted emerging markets such as Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia. Huobi gauges expansion success in terms of user growth and said it has started seeing strength in new markets it’s entering.

“In terms of user growth, we’re seeing increasing activity across Southeast Asia and the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] region. We only recently launched operations in Latin America, but the region is also showing a lot of promise,” Jeff Mei, Director of Global Strategy at Huobi Group, told CoinDesk.

Huobi continues to work toward its goal of increasing its global headcount to 3,000 by the end of the year, up from 2,300 in early October.

“We’re continuing to ramp up our global talent acquisition efforts but it’s also critical that we find the right people in each market. We’ve made some progress, but it’s still too early to say where we’ll land by the end of the year,” said Mei.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Brandy covered crypto-related venture capital deals for CoinDesk.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.