• Huobi, a leading crypto exchange, is reportedly laying off 20% of its workforce and requesting employees take their salaries in stablecoins.
• Internal communication has reportedly been suspended to quell discontent, and customers are pulling their funds from the exchange.
• The crypto industry has seen many scandals in the past year, leading to caution from investors when it comes to trusting their funds with centralized exchanges.
In the last few days, news has broken that the Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has taken some drastic action. Reportedly, the exchange is laying off 20% of its workforce and has requested employees take their salaries in stablecoins. This move has led to a wave of concern from customers, who have begun to pull their funds from the platform.
The news has come at a particularly tumultuous time for the crypto industry, with many scandals in the past year leading to a great deal of caution from investors when it comes to trusting their funds with centralized exchanges. This latest news has only added to these concerns.
Huobi was founded in 2013 and has quickly become one of the world’s most important crypto exchanges. It is the third largest exchange in terms of volume, and its native token, Huobi Token (HT), is the sixth largest token by market cap.
The reports of layoffs and pay cuts have led to a significant drop in the HT token, which has fallen 10% since the news broke. This is likely due to the fact that Huobi relies heavily on its own token to denominate its reserves, and the news of layoffs and a lack of internal communication has led investors to question the security of their funds.
At this point, there is no concrete evidence of anything untoward happening with customer reserves. However, given the current state of the crypto industry, investors would be wise to withdraw their funds from the exchange until the dust settles. The decision to take pay cuts in stablecoins also raises questions about the company’s financial situation and whether it is struggling to keep afloat.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Huobi, but for now it seems that investors are taking a cautious approach to their funds and are withdrawing them from the exchange. It is yet another example of how precarious the crypto industry can be, but also a reminder of the need to remain vigilant and aware of the risks associated with centralized exchanges.
