Crypto Moguls Compete for Huobi Majority Stake: Report

Sam Bankman-Fried, Justin Sun contend for founder’s stake in the cryptocurrency exchange

article-image

Justin Sun (Source: Piskev91, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons); Leon Li (Source: Huobi); Sam Bankman-Fried (Source: Cointelegraph, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

share

key takeaways

  • Huobi founder seeks a valuation of up to $3 billion
  • It’s unclear whether affiliate firm Huobi Technology is part of the stake sale

Leon Li, the founder and CEO of Huobi Global, is in talks with investors to sell his majority stake in the cryptocurrency exchange, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

Li, who co-founded Huobi in 2013, reportedly wants to sell about 60% of his stake. He’s aiming for a valuation between $2 billion to $3 billion, implying that a sale could generate over $1 billion, the report said.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Tron founder Justin Sun are among potential investors that have held preliminary discussions with Huobi about the stake sale, it added.

As one of the world’s largest crypto trading platforms, Huobi often sees daily volumes above $1 billion. The exchange slowly pulled out of servicing users in China — previously a hotbed of revenue and clientele — after the country declared crypto-related transactions illegal last year. 

It isn’t clear whether the stake involved includes the company’s Hong Kong-listed affiliate Huobi Technology, which manages digital assets for investors. Huobi Tech’s shares are down 45% so far this year, TradingView data shows.

Huobi, FTX and the Tron Network didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.

Some well-positioned venture capitalists and investors considered the recent meltdown in cryptocurrency markets as a buying opportunity for new projects. Periods of turmoil in the market are also seen as the best time to develop new services in the crypto sector.

Bankman-Fried took it upon himself to go on a deal frenzy, announcing agreements to buy Canadian crypto trading firm Bitvo, as well as Embed Financial and BlockFi. He also offered to bail out Voyager Digital, but the bankrupt crypto lender denied what it termed his “low-ball” bid.

Sun — who prefers to be known as His Excellency after a 2021 diplomatic appointment from the Caribbean island nation of Grenada — said last month he was prepared to join Bankman-Fried in offering financial support to companies within the crypto ecosystem, saying that he and the Tron protocol he founded were “ready to serve.” Sun previously acquired a stake in crypto exchange Poloniex and file-sharing pioneer BitTorrent, now called Rainberry, for $140 million.


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Tags

Upcoming Events

HYATT REGENCY SALT LAKE CITY

TUES, OCT. 8, 2024

Guided by the expertise of Blockworks Research Analysts team, this one day event will feature senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and developers from across the crypto industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience to explore the latest trends, […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

recent research

hivemapper.jpeg

Research

We believe crypto market participants overlook Hivemapper’s fundamental potential due to a poor understanding of both the niche map data market and Hivemapper’s positioning relative to incumbents. Hivemapper’s token model catalyzes both a cost and product advantage via unmatched map freshness and near real-time accuracy, which is its wedge into a market characterized by stale data and high data collection costs. Its current and potential future product suite may represent one of the strongest possibilities for PMF in crypto today.

article-image

👨‍⚖️ SBF’s courtroom sequel: Plus, Coinbase’s legal loss was DeFi’s gain

article-image

Public mining companies have been acquiring sites, refreshing machine fleets and diversifying business models in preparation for the event

article-image

Exploit shows centralization can sometimes be an asset

article-image

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund, like other proposed ETH ETFs, seeks to stake a portion of its assets, according to the firm’s Wednesday registration statement

article-image

The DAO first voted on enabling SAFE transfers over a year ago