Huobi Bans Chinese-Based Users From Trading on App

China was added to the list of unlawful jurisdictions for its derivatives trading service, but its users can still access the exchange platform and spot trade, according to the updated fine print on June 26.

article-image

Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • The use of derivative trading services provided by Huobi’s website is prohibited for anyone in mainland China, Taiwan, Israel, Iraq, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Sevastopol and the United Kingdom for retail users only.
  • This update follows last week’s news that Huobi’s Twitter account vanished but reappeared later in the week.

Huobi, a bitcoin and ethereum trading platform, is no longer permitting Chinese-based users to trade derivatives on its website, according to its updated user agreement notice. 

China was added to the list of unlawful jurisdictions for its derivatives trading service, but its users can still access the exchange platform and spot trade, according to the updated fine print on June 26.

“The Company may suspend or terminate your account or use of the Service, or the processing of any digital asset transaction, at any time if it determines in its sole discretion that you have violated this Agreement or that its provision or your use of the Service in your jurisdiction is unlawful,” it said. 

Use of services is prohibited for people in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Crimea, it said. Meanwhile, the use of derivative trading services provided by Huobi’s website is prohibited for anyone in mainland China, Taiwan, Israel, Iraq, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Sevastopol and the United Kingdom for retail users only, the company said.  

The list of countries or regions under prohibited restrictions can change due to new products or policies, according to the user agreement. 

This update follows last week’s news that Huobi’s Twitter account vanished but reappeared later in the week. After the incident, the company tweeted a statement that “everything is back to normal,” and added, “currently there are many rumors floating out there in the world of crypto. Huobi assures that we are operating under fully legal and compliant standards to best protect users and your assets.”

When the account disappeared it led many to think that Seychelles-incorporated, but Hong Kong-listed Huobi had been caught in the crosshairs of the territory’s regulators, Blockworks previously reported

In general, Hong Kong and Beijing have been cracking down on crypto. Hong Kong restricts exchanges to professional investors only — Huobi opens its doors to everyone — and while the firm is Seychelles registered, it is publicly listed on the Hong Kong exchange.

Separately, earlier this month, securities regulators in Thailand, as part of the country’s broader crackdown on crypto offerings with “no clear objectives or substance”, ordered Huobi to cease operations until it cleans up its organizational structure and reconfigures its offerings to become compliant with local regulatory standards, Blockworks previously reported.

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent low-hanging fruit in a massive market ripe for Web3-driven disruption. The global CDN market was valued at ~$28B in 2024, and is projected to surpass $140B by 2034, (18.75% CAGR) underscoring the immense demand for efficient content delivery.

article-image

A vote ending Monday could introduce a new layer of security for Ethereum’s largest liquid staking protocol

article-image

Framework’s Michael Anderson explains what tokens need in order to be successful

article-image

Conferences are pop-up innovation clusters—and filters for the riff-raff

article-image

Tariff front-running may have caused an artificial bounce in economic data earlier this year

article-image

Waka Flocka Flame-linked BaseDrop is raising some eyebrows

article-image

IPO’ing onchain, Ethereum scaling, and using AI for ZK