Huobi Global Could Cut Over 30% of Workforce as China Crackdown Leads to Fall in Revenue

China's decision to ban crypto trading last year caused Huobi a sharp drop in revenue.

AccessTimeIconJun 28, 2022 at 9:25 a.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 6:54 p.m. UTC
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

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global could cut over 30% of its workforce after the removal of Chinese users created a sharp drop in revenue, according to China-based crypto journalist Colin Wu.

  • Huobi is expected to cut at least 300 jobs from its workforce of more than 1,000 employees. It began to gradually stop serving customers in China last September, with all access being revoked on Dec. 31 in the wake of China's ban on crypto trading.
  • "Due to the current market environment, Huobi Global is in the process of reviewing both its hiring policies and its current manpower, with the goal of re-aligning them to its operational needs," a company spokesperson told CoinDesk. "Further to such review, layoffs are a possibility."
  • Huobi Denies Reports of Executive Arrests as Stablecoin Reserves Sink
    05:54
    Huobi Denies Reports of Executive Arrests as Stablecoin Reserves Sink
  • China Is Binance’s Largest Market: WSJ
    04:25
    China Is Binance’s Largest Market: WSJ
  • Why Bitcoin Miners Have Flocked to Texas
    07:56
    Why Bitcoin Miners Have Flocked to Texas
  • Justin Sun on Hong Kong Outlook, State of Crypto Regulation
    16:58
    Justin Sun on Hong Kong Outlook, State of Crypto Regulation
    • The Seychelles-based Huobi Global is one of the most prominent crypto exchanges with daily trade volume regularly exceeding $1.2 billion, according to CoinGecko.
    • Last week, rival exchange Bybit announced a similar cost-cutting measure and laid off 30% of its staff in light of the recent market downturn.
    • This followed Coinbase's (COIN) decision to reduce its headcount by over 1,100 employees. BlockFi and Crypto.com also laid off a total of 400 employees.
    • The cryptocurrency market has slumped from an aggregated $2.9 trillion market cap to $938 billion over the past seven months, with bitcoin (BTC) now trading at $20,800 after hitting an all-time high of $68,980 in November.
    • Huobi's native exchange token (HT) was down 1.16% over the past 24-hours at $5.30.
    • Huobi did not respond to CoinDesk's request for comment at press time.

    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.

    Oliver Knight

    Oliver Knight is a CoinDesk reporter based between London and Lisbon. He does not own any crypto.


    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.


    Read more about