Huobi suspends crypto-derivative trading in mainland China

The Bitcoin exchange Huobi has finally curtailed trading of futures and other crypto-derivatives in mainland China. The move forms part of a broader plan by the company to scale back its operations in the country.

In October the exchange announced that “in accordance with local regulatory requirements” it would complete the wind-down of the business offering clients derivatives based on digital assets.

Obligations under deliverable contracts expiring in the current and next quarters were fulfilled on October 29. Settlements on other derivatives were completed earlier.

Chinese journalist Colin Wu noted that Huobi’s Bitcoin wallet balance has continued to shrink. In the last 24 hours it fell by 3.34%, to 77,992 BTC (~$4.76 billion at the current rate). Meanwhile, on the morning of October 29, 10,072 BTC flowed into the OKEx exchange.

AICoin data shows that Huobi wallets held the number of bitcoins continues to decrease. The BTC wallet balance has been reduced to 77,992.48, 24 hours hourly drop 3.34%. In addition, in the morning today, there were 10,072.50 BTC flowed into the OKEx exchange.

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 29, 2021

In June 2021, Huobi closed to Chinese and British investors access to crypto-derivative trading.

In September, the platform stopped registering new users in mainland China after another wave of crackdowns on the cryptocurrency industry. A similar move was taken by the Bitcoin exchange Binance.

Huobi had decided to leave China even before Beijing tightened regulation of the digital assets market, and excluded the possibility of further operation in the country, according to Bloomberg.