Huobi dismisses plunging stablecoin reserves as ‘FUD’

Exchange spokesperson refuted claims that any team members have been detained by Chinese authorities

article-image

Grey82/Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

share

Following speculation that Chinese officials detained some Huobi executives, the crypto exchange’s stablecoin reserves have dwindled as much as 34% in the past week.

Local Chinese media reported that law enforcement detained at least three Huobi executives. Allegedly, some employees were sent an urgent notification advising them to depart the country at the earliest.

Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, relayed information he alleges came directly from a high-ranking executive at Tron, stating that team members were facing a criminal probe tied to activities associated with Huobi.

Loading Tweet..

DefiLlama data indicates that between Aug. 1 and 7, Huobi’s USDT balances saw a significant decrease of $40 million. As of Monday, the total value locked in Huobi was at $2.4 billion, marking a decline from its $3 billion position at the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, Nansen reported that Huobi’s net outflows, excluding bitcoin, amounted to $32.9 million in the past 24 hours, a figure representing 1% of the total assets currently held by the exchange.

Loading Tweet..

A Huobi spokesperson denied any allegations of team member arrests, and said the company contacted “all original sources of misinformation” requesting them to retract or correct their statements.

Additionally, they dismissed claims of significant outflows, asserting that the data provided by DefiLlama was not accurate.

“Please check out Nansen, which has the most updated and accurate real-time data, the relevant team is working with DefiLlama to update their data tracking,” they told Blockworks via email.

Separately on Monday, Justin Sun, a member of Huobi’s global advisory board, called on observers to disregard the FUD.

“#TRON and #Huobi will thrive through continuous development,” he wrote. “Trust in our vision and community efforts for a stronger future.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

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.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

The DeFi Education Fund has ideas on how the crypto-friendly SEC can bring Commissioner Peirce’s vision to life

article-image

“Be prepared to do more with less,” Framework Ventures’ Michael Anderson said

article-image

Q1 may have been “frustrating,” but things are looking brighter for Q2

article-image

Tokens worth 20% of the current supply of the TRUMP memecoin launched by the president are set to be unlocked tomorrow

article-image

A crypto-industry lawsuit is “moot” now that Joint Resolution 25 has been signed into law

article-image

Fed Chair Powell assured markets that the labor market is in “good place,” dependent on price stability