Huobi Global is a Seychelles-based centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX). It offers spot and derivatives markets, peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, as well as lending and over-the-counter (OTC) trading.
The Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange is regionally restricted. Most notably, its services are unavailable in China and the USA. According to the company’s representatives, the platform aims to re-enter the US market in the foreseeable future, offering asset management services rather than the exchange itself.
Markets
The Huobi Global spot market contains more than 600 crypto assets, as well as several fiat currencies, including USD, EUR, AUD, and HKD. Additionally, the platform has its own native asset, Huobi Token (HT). Customers that hold HT tokens in their wallets may be eligible for Huobi Global crypto price discounts when trading or purchasing services.
There are over 1000 Huobi Global trading pairs available for customers. The Huobi Trading Bot supports grid trading, which can be automated or manually set up by the user.
The trading fees on the Huobi Global spot market use a tiered structure. Huobi crypto fees on coin-margined and USDT-margined trading may differ. Additionally, different rates apply to regular and Pro users.
In coin-margined swaps trading, default maker/taker Huobi Global crypto fees are 0.02% and 0.05%, respectively. Pro users are grouped into 9 levels based on their 30-day trading volume. If the trading volume exceeds $400 million, makers are not required to pay fees. Additionally, makers are refunded 0.005% when the trade volume exceeds $900 million.
The platform also offers futures trading services. The derivatives market contains more than 230 Huobi Global trading pairs. Similar to the swap market, the fees are separate for regular and Pro members in coin-margined futures trading.
By default, the futures Huobi Global exchange fees on BTC/USD trades are 0.02% for makers and 0.05% for takers, with an additional 0.015% delivery fee. The same maker/taker fees apply to other futures assets. However, the delivery fee is 0.05%.
Futures traders on the Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange can receive preferential fee rates based on their level, going up to Pro 9. The Pro 1 level required a 30-day Huobi trade volume of at least $30 million. The maker fees are 0.015%, while the taker fees are 0.030%.
Starting with Pro 6, where the trade volume exceeds $500 million, maker fees do not apply. However, if the 30-day volume exceeds $1.3 billion, makers can earn an additional 0.005%. Pro 9 takers pay a fee of 0.020%.
The Huobi crypto price on futures delivery fees is not discounted at any Pro level and remains 0.015% on BTC transactions and 0.05% on other futures trades.
In USDT-margined Huobi swap trading, the default maker/taker fees are also 0.02% and 0.05%. For USDT-margined futures trading, the taker fee is 0.030%, while the makers receive a 0.005% refund. The delivery fees are 0.015% for BTC/USDT and 0.050% for other USDT-margined futures. Similar Pro user discounts apply.
Customers can directly purchase digital assets on the Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange. Visa and MasterCard are accepted as payment methods to purchase several assets, including BTC, ETH, HUSD, and USDT. There are no Huobi crypto fees on P2P purchases.
Other Services
Huobi Earn is a program that allows users to earn a fixed rate of APY on their deposits. Additionally, Huobi Staking allows Huobi crypto exchange users to earn passive income. The earned Huobi crypto price is determined by the staked amount and the duration of yield farming.
Dual Investment allows users to generate passive yield by actively investing in futures markets. The two main strategies of dual investment are selling higher or buying below the market price. Dual investors earn daily interest on their contracts.
The Huobi Lending Service provides crypto-backed loan contracts. Brokerage rates are contract-specific. The Huobi cryptocurrency exchange also supports large-scale transactions via over-the-counter trading for no additional transaction fees.
About the Company
The Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange was co-founded by Leon Li and Jun Du in China in 2013. However, following the 2017 ban on Bitcoin exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs), the company left the Chinese market and relocated to Singapore. While it has several offices worldwide, its main headquarters are located in Seychelles.
In September 2013, the Huobi Bitcoin trading service was officially launched, following the release of a simulation trading platform in August. In December 2013, before its first anniversary, it was recorded that the Huobi Global trade volume exceeded ¥30 billion. In 2022, this would be the equivalent of more than $3.4 billion.
2014 proceeded with a series of venture capital investments, increasing the valuation of the Huobi crypto exchange. In September of the same year, the company experienced a technical issue when nearly 1,000 BTC and over 8,000 LTC were deposited in the wrong accounts. The error was later reverted.
Throughout 2016, the Huobi Global volume kept progressively increasing. In H1 2016, the trade volume surpassed ¥1 trillion. By the end of the year, the daily Huobi trade volume was exceeding ¥200 billion.
Following the 2017 ICO ban in China, the Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange focused its efforts on its global expansion, launching operations in South Korea, Singapore, and Japan. In 2018, the daily Huobi volume was valued at around $1 billion.
Huobi Global attempted to enter the US market in 2018. However, due to management issues, the services were withdrawn.
In 2021, the Huobi Global crypto exchange closed its doors in China for good after cryptocurrencies were deemed illegal in the country. Since the initial relocation, Huobi Global has been working on global expansion projects in other markets, including East Asia and South America.
Huobi Global releases monthly operations reports, providing business updates, institutional data, and statistics on the HT token.
Leon Li is the CEO of Huobi Global. He has a master’s degree in computer engineering from Tsinghua University. In August 2022, it was announced that Li was looking into selling his majority stake in the Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange, valued at around $2-3 billion.
Jun Du briefly left the Huobi crypto exchange in 2017, founding several companies, including Golden Finance, in the following years. In 2020, he rejoined the Huobi team. Prior to launching the crypto exchange, Du worked with product operations at Tencent.
