Huobi, a Chinese crypto trading platform, announced plans on Tuesday it would relocate to the Caribbean in a surprise move, the Financial Times reported.
The firm stated in its report it may potentially choose the Dominican Republic, Panama, or the Bahamas for their “super-friendly” positions on cryptocurrencies and English language use, the Financial Times reported, Justin Sun, Huobi board member, said at the time.
He said: “These days, one of the biggest targets we have here is to go all in the Caribbean.”
The company is currently headquartered in Seychelles and has offices in South Korea, Hong Kong, the US, and Japan. The company could move roughly 200 workers to the new location, FT wrote.
The news comes after Huobi officials visited Roosevelt Skerrit, the country’s Prime Minister, to build Domenica’s cryptocurrency networks, technologies, and infrastructure.
Other companies registered in the Caribbean include FTX, C-Trade, Binance, and PrimeBit.
Layoff Rumours
The news comes amid rumours the company would launch a wave of layoffs amid the ongoing cryptocurrency bear market.
Chinese cryptocurrency blogger Colin Wu said in recent reports Huobi planned to shed some of its staff after Capital Management (HK) Co Ltd bought out the firm, becoming its controlling shareholder.
About Capital CEO Ted Chen and H.E. Justin Sun share their vision for Huobi Global after acquisition.@justinsuntron said: “Our key focus will be on supporting the Huobi Token (HT) .”https://t.co/fvfJEYAzZ6
— Huobi (@HuobiGlobal) October 10, 2022
In October, About Capital Management (HK) Co. Ltd, a Hong Kong based-asset management firm, became Huobi Global’s controlling shareholder following a successful buyout deal.
In an official statement, Ted Chen, chief executive of About Capital Management and Sun issued a joint statement refuting claims of the layoffs, adding it had a “healthy cash flow.”
Concluding, Sun said: “Having completed its exit from the mainland China market, Huobi Global will be embarking on a series of branding activities and business developments after the acquisition. Instead of releasing new tokens, our key focus will be on supporting the Huobi Token (HT) to strengthen its place in the virtual assets industry.”
