Huobi co-founder reportedly looks to sell majority stake valued at over $1B

Published at: Aug. 12, 2022

Leon Li, the co-founder of global crypto exchange Huobi, is reportedly in talks to sell the majority of his stake in the company that could be valued at over $1 billion.

Li reportedly had discussions with multiple financiers seeking to offload a 60% stake in the crypto company, which could be valued at over $1 billion and some believe could fetch as high as $3 billion, reported Bloomberg.

A Huobi spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg that the co-founder is engaging with numerous international giants to sell his majority share in the crypto exchange, without disclosing details.

Li reportedly informed about his decisions to other backers of the company during a shareholder meeting in July this year. Li has transferred his chief executive officer duties to Hua Zhu, in order to focus on his health.

The report also claimed that global crypto exchange FTX and Tron founder Justin Sun were some of the early investors in talks with the Huobi co-founder. Huobi didn’t respond to Cointelegraph’s requests for comments at press time.

The report also claimed that the deal could be finalized by the end of this month. Once completed, it could be one of the biggest deals since the crypto market turmoil that started in May this year.

Related: Huobi Global launches $1B investment arm focused on DeFi and Web3

The market downturn has also turned into an opportunity for crypto giants such as FTX, which has committed $1 billion in the bailout to crypto exchanges that are struggling to remain afloat due to heavy losses and lack of capital.

Huobi was founded in 2013 and currently accounts for more than $1 billion daily trading volume. The crypto exchange gained popularity following the closure of BTCC and soon became the hub for Chinese crypto traders. The exchange eventually closed its operations for Chinese users after the Beijing government deemed all crypto transitions illegal and banned foreign exchanges from offering their services.

Huobi has made significant expansion internationally ever since the Chinese government ban as it acquired licenses in Dubai and New Zealand, followed by a license from the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

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