James Atkins
Editor
Editor
FTX has been active in the acquisitions arena this year, snapping up firms like Liquid and Bitvo amid the crypto winter.Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of crypto exchange FTX, says that his firm does not plan to acquire cryptocurrency exchange Huobi. FTX is backed by Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
In an interview with The Block, Bankman-Fried was asked if FTX plans to acquire Huobi given that FTX is backed by Binance. He responds:
“No, we’re not interested in Huobi. We think that they’re a great company, but we’re focused on building our own business.”
The head of FTX, whose company has been in the news recently for its aggressive acquisition. And expansion plans during the cryptocurrency recession tweeted on Monday:
“Simply to be clear because a lot of people are asking this: no, we are not considering acquiring Huobi.”
Founded in 2013, Huobi was one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges. And it has a growing presence in other areas such as Korea and Hong Kong.
FTX, by comparison, is a much newer entrant having only launched in May 2019. The FTX team includes former market makers from Susquehanna, Jane Street, and Optiver.
FTX currently ranks in the top spot on CoinMarketCap for derivatives exchanges with $1.4 billion in 24-hour trading volume. Huobi, meanwhile, is ranked fourth for spot exchanges with $740 million in 24-hour volume.
Bankman-Fried’s remarks come after it was reported that FTX was in talks to acquire Huobi.
According to recent reports, Leon Li, Huobi founder had discussed selling a lion’s share in his company to FTX. If the bid is successful, it would value the exchange at around $3 billion.
FTX would reportedly pay $600 million in cash and the rest in FTX tokens for the majority stake. FTX is currently the fifth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by adjusted daily trading volume and the third-largest by market capitalization.
The FTX team also recently announced plans to launch a tokenized version of Binance’s stock token on its platform. FTX currently offers tokenized versions of Tesla, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, and other stocks.
Huobi is currently the sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by adjusted daily trading volume. The company has been on an acquisition spree in recent months, buying a controlling stake in Japanese crypto exchange BitTrade. And launching its own stablecoin, the HUSD.
According to reports, Tron founder and former CEO Justin Sun is interested in joining Huobi. Sun also squashed the rumor.
Despite the cryptocurrency winter, FTX’s expansion plans include buying crypto exchange Liquid and trading platform Bitvo. FTX is also in the process of launching a fiat-to-crypto exchange in Malta.
According to reports, the firm has been in negotiations to acquire South Korea-based crypto exchange Bithumb. Huobi, FTX’s main competitor, is also reportedly in the running to acquire Bithumb.
FTX is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange launched in 2019. The FTX team includes professionals with experience at places like Jane Street Capital, Optiver, Susquehanna International Group, Google, Baidu, and Huawei.
FTX is headquartered in Singapore and has offices in San Francisco and Hong Kong.
FTX is backed by investors including Circle, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, B Wiley, Galaxy Digital Ventures, and Alameda Research. FTX is committed to building the most sophisticated derivatives trading platform in the world.
Huobi is a leading global digital asset financial services provider. Huobi was founded in China and has since expanded its operations to over 130 countries and regions. The company’s mission is to make finance more inclusive and efficient through blockchain technology.
Huobi offers a wide range of financial products and services, including spot and derivatives trading, lending, staking, wallet, and more. The company has built a reputation for security, reliability, and performance.
What do you think about the silent war of acquisitions between FTX and Huobi? Let us know in the comment section!
I have been writing copy for blockchain-related projects since 2017. I understand the importance of being able to communicate clearly and effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences. By leveraging my understanding of the crypto industry trends, I can help increase adoption in this rapidly evolving landscape.
