Yesterday, with a Twitter post, the Huobi Australia team announced that it is closing the crypto exchange’s local branch from February 26th.
Please be informed that starting 26th February 2019, all operations, including the management of our platform, social media channels and customer support will be managed by our team at Huobi Global headquarters. pic.twitter.com/JP1lInoblt
— HuobiAustralia (@HuobiAu) February 25, 2019
From that date, platform operations will stop and the company has also decided to abandon the registration procedure with AUSTRAC, the control body of the country, necessary to be able to operate with fiat currencies.
The closure was decided after only 8 months from the launch of the crypto exchange, which took place in the form of a joint venture between Huobi Group and Blockchain Global, government team that deals with blockchain technology development in Australia.
The global platform will naturally continue to operate and provide support services for Australian customers as well.
The main reasons for the closure were the change in the general conditions of the crypto sector, the sharp drop in the capitalisation of the main currencies and the drop in trading volumes.
One crypto exchange for every 100,000 Australians
AUSTRAC, the supervisory body responsible in this area, received 246 applications last summer for the opening of fiat exchange in a country with less than 25 million inhabitants.
That amounts to one exchange for every 100,000 inhabitants, hence a series of closures of less competitive projects is to be expected.
Huobi’s team, led by Adrian Harrison, an expert in the monetary sector with 20 years of experience and supported by Jack Zhang as a controller, will have to find a different location.
Already in December, Houbi had started a process of “optimisation” of the staff, as reported by the South China Morning Post, a euphemism that means a reduction in staff, always due to a change in the competitive situation and the market.
