Huobi Global

GALA token exploit ‘not a white hat act:’ Huobi Global

Huobi claimed that calling the incident a white hat move was only pNetwork’s excuse to avoid legal sanctions.

Disclaimer: This article has been updated with pNetwork’s official response to Huobi.

Days after GameFi project Gala Games and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol pNetwork assured its community that everything was fine, crypto exchange Huobi Global came out with its version of the story, accusing pNetwork of earning a $4.5 million profit from the recent pGALA crash.

On Nov. 3, a suspected attacker minted $2 billion worth of GALA (GALA) on BNB Smart Chain and dumped a portion of the tokens on PancakeSwap, earning a total of 12,977 BNB (BNB), which was worth around $4.5 million at the time. This drained a PancakeSwap pool and caused a drop in the token price.

According to a crypto analytics account called Lookonchain, some traders took advantage of the situation, buying GALA from PancakeSwap and dumping the tokens on Huobi, causing a price crash from $0.04 to $0.0003 on the crypto exchange.

With the community in fear of a potential multi-billion dollar hack, the Gala Games president for blockchain Jason Brink took to Twitter to explain that everything is fine and that the activity observed is part of pNetwork’s efforts to safeguard its liquidity pool from vulnerabilities.

However, in a recent announcement by Huobi Global, the crypto exchange made allegations against pNetwork, claiming that the protocol’s recent behavior was not a white hat move. According to Huobi, the recent incident was a scheme for malicious profit. Additionally, the crypto exchange also alleged that calling the activity a white hat attack was only an excuse by the pNetwork team “to avoid legal consequences.”

Furthermore, Huobi also made claims that the incident caused massive losses for its users. The exchange underscored that it is ready to represent the users who sustained damages from the incident and threatened to take legal action against pNetwork. However, if the alleged attackers are willing to return the proceeds from the attack, Huobi said that it will provide a $1 million bounty and will not pursue its legal responsibilities.

In response to the allegations made by Huobi, pNetwork officially responded, deeming Huobi’s allegations as untruthful. The DeFi protocol highlighted that they have definitive proof that pNetwork acted in good faith and all actions were done in collaboration with Gala Games. The firm also explained that it will seek legal action against Huobi for its allegations.

Huobi Global denies ‘large-scale layoffs’ and key exec resignations

A spokesperson from Huobi Global says rumors of layoffs are “untrue” and the “senior management team is performing their duties as per normal.”

Huobi Global says it has no plans to conduct “large-scale layoffs” and has refuted reports that two of its top executives have resigned amid a takeover of the Seychelles-based crypto exchange.

Reports that the company’s CEO Leon Li and chief financial officer Chris Lee have resigned appeared to have originated from an Oct. 29 Twitter post from Chinese crypto blogger Colin Wu, citing “people familiar” with Huobi.

The Twitter post also suggested there could be mass layoffs planned for its 1,600 employees due to “too many people” working at the company.

However, a spokesperson from Huobi Global told Cointelegraph that rumors there could be mass layoffs are “untrue” and that its senior management continues to perform their duties “as per normal,” stating:

“Huobi Global’s senior management team is performing their duties as per normal, and rumors of large-scale layoffs are untrue. At present, Huobi Global enjoys a healthy cash flow, and the new shareholders have completed the capital injection.”

“Huobi has demonstrated positive development potential in key regional markets, and will continue to invest in business innovation, exploring international markets and recruiting local employees,” they added.

However, the spokesperson admitted that due to the crypto market downturn , some cost-cutting could still be on the cards though it didn’t clarify what this could entail, stating:

“Huobi Global is in a sound financial position at present, but due to the current market downturn, Huobi will also make adjustments to reduce costs and increase efficiency.”

Huobi is a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange founded by Leon Li in 2013 and currently has operations in more than 30 countries around the world and a presence in over 100 countries.

In August, the crypto exchange got the green light to offer fiat cryptocurrency trading services in Australia after registering as a digital currency exchange provider with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).

September saw Huobi establish a partnership with South Korea’s “blockchain” city of Busan to provide research and development, technology and financial support for the Busan Digital Currency Exchange. Huobi is also set to assist in identifying and hiring blockchain talent for Busan’s local exchange.

Meanwhile, the biggest news came in October, when About Capital Management (HK) Co. Ltd, a Hong Kong based-asset management firm, became the exchange’s controlling shareholder following a successful buyout deal for an undisclosed amount.

Why is the price of Huobi Token up 12% today as rest of the market slumps?

HT price makes further gains as Huobi Global opens SEAN spot trading, but the rally might be short-lived as technicals flip bearish.

Huobi Token (HT) has been up 12% in the last 24 hours and is one of the few cryptocurrencies bucking the general downtrend.

Trading at over $7, HT’s price is up over 80% since the beginning of this week, which is also its best weekly performance since February 2021.

*HT/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView*

HT’s intraday gains coincide primarily with crypto exchange Huobi Global announcing the opening of Starfish Finance (SEAN) spot trading on its platform.

Plans to “empower” HT

Additionally, HT’s impressive weekly gains were related to About Capital Management. On Oct. 8, the Hong Kong-based investment firm announced purchasing Huobi Global, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges by volume.

HT serves as a utility token inside the Huobi Global ecosystem. Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain project and reportedly the core backer of About Capital, said on Oct. 10 that they would empower HT to boost Huobi Global’s brand and business endeavors.

今天是我入职Huobi第二天，我代表Huobi Global顾问委员会发言，我们深知振兴Huobi的关键就是赋能HT，HT兴火币才能兴！未来将有许多大动作围绕HT展开，包括品牌升级，重磅赋能，商务合作，我们会团结一切能团结的力量，共同把@HuobiGlobal 做好！

— H.E. Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) October 10, 2022

Nevertheless, the HT price rally has exposed it to potential profit-taking scenarios, per a mix of technical indicators.

Huobi Token overbought?

On the daily chart below, HT’s relative strength index (RSI) has crossed above 70, which is considered an “overbought” signal. That typically follows with the price entering a consolidation or correction period.

Similarly, the HT price rally witnessed this week accompanies a drop in trading volumes, suggesting traders have been growing doubtful about the longevity of the uptrend. Again, it could result in a price correction in the coming days.

The third bearish signal comes from HT’s weekly chart.

*HT/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView*

Notably, HT’s price now tests a resistance confluence made up of its 50-week exponential moving average (50-week EMA; the red wave), the 0.786 Fib line near $7.30, and a horizontal level near $7.40 that has historically served as support but now acts as a price ceiling.

The event of a pullback from this resistance confluence could have HT drop toward the $3.4–$3.8 area by the end of this year, a 50% price decline.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Busan signs MoU with Huobi, gets more help for local crypto exchange

Huobi Global is the third major cryptocurrency exchange to pen a blockchain ecosystem development agreement with the South Korean city.

South Korea’s “blockchain” city of Busan continues to establish agreements with cryptocurrency industry heavyweights as Huobi Global enters the development ecosystem.

Huobi Global and its Korean branch became the latest exchange to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Busan Metropolitan City government to participate in the growth of its blockchain industry.

According to an official announcement from Huobi, the partnership will see the company provide research and development, technology and financial support for the Busan Digital Currency Exchange. Huobi is also set to assist in identifying and hiring blockchain talent for Busan’s local exchange.

Huobi has been operating a local office since 2019 and received a mandatory regulatory license from the South Korean Financial Services Commission in 2021. The company cites its operational experience within the country as an important factor in assisting Busan’s goal of becoming a global cryptocurrency and blockchain hub.

A statement from Huobi Korea CEO Junyong Choi highlighted the company’s existing business ties with Korean blockchain ecosystem participants and the expertise of the Huobi Research Institute and Huobi Academy as key drivers of the partnership:

“We believe that Busan has strong attributes for fostering innovation and growth, and share their belief that blockchain technologies can transform and benefit traditional industries.”

Huobi has also committed to sponsoring the Busan Blockchain Week at the end of October 2022 as part of the agreement.

Busan also signed an agreement with Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency trading platform FTX in August 2022 to assist in the development of Busan’s local exchange. Binance also penned a similar deal with the city in the same month, with CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in attendance during the announcement.

Both FTX and Binance are set to establish a local presence in the city as part of the deal, while Huobi Korea’s local office already has a foothold in Busan.

Huobi to delist Monero and other privacy coins, citing regulatory pressures

The exchange cited its own token management policy and compliance efforts as primary reasons for delisting seven privacy coins.

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi will delist seven different privacy coins from its platform as regulatory pressure mounts on anonymity-enhanced currencies (AECs).

The exchange announced that it had terminated the trading service of a number of privacy tokens including Dash (DSH), Decred (DCR), Firo (FIRO), Monero (XMR), Verge (XVG), Zcash (ZEC) and Horizen (ZEN).

These tokens will begin to be delisted on Sept. 19, while deposit services ceased on Monday in conjunctio with the announcement. Users were urged to cancel open orders for the privacy coins, while the exchange will cancel any existing orders at the delisting time and credit users’ spot accounts.

Huobi noted that it made efforts to meet compliance policies of more than 100 countries in which its services are available. The announcement cited efforts to comply with the latest financial regulations, as well as the company’s Token Management Rules.

Article 17(16) of its rules list addresses “trading concealment or suspension,” which gives Huobi Global the right to conceal or suspend token trading in the following circumstances. Clause 16 is directed at privacy coins in particular:

“The token is a privacy token, does not support offline signatures, or its node source codes are not open-sourced.”

The exchange also confirmed that it had ended trading services on its futures, margin, ETP, OTC and trading bot services. Cointelegraph has reached out to Huobi Global to ascertain the driving force behind the move and whether regulators in specific countries have necessitated the delisting of the respective privacy coins.

Huobi is eyeing a move into the United States market after acquiring a Money Services Business (MSB) license from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in July 2022.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, privacy tokens have come under intense scrutiny in different jurisdictions around the world, with the likes of Japanese, South Korean and Australian regulators outlawing their use in recent years.