Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which is the local regulator of the country, revoked the operating license of leading cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Thailand. According to an announcement posted on website of Huobi Thailand, the exchange will permanently shut down its operations in its Thai branch on July 1, 2022.

In a statement, Huobi Thailand said it no longer has an official operating license. For the past 10 months the exchange is attempting to contact its customers to inform them they can withdraw their assets from the exchange. To this end, the exchange plans to leave some communication channels like Telegram and email address open for customers for those who seeks to withdraw funds after its closure. Huobi Group and its affiliates would not be held responsible for any issues related to Huobi Thailand, it added. After closure Huobi Thailand will have no connections or legal obligations to the Huobi Group. “Huobi Group and its affiliates are not and will not be responsible for any issues regarding Huobi Thailand,” it said.

Since early September of last year its services had been suspended following a ruling from Thailand’s SEC. In revoking Huobi Thailand's license, the agency pointed to the company's failure to comply with rules and regulations it holds exchanges operating in Thailand accountable to. The company was given an extension to correct issues identified by Thailand's SEC regarding trading, information technology systems, and customer asset retention. An investigation revealed that the firm's management structure and operations were insufficient to ensure compliance with relevant rules despite notifying the firm about inconsistencies and giving it time to modify. Huobi Thailand failed to revise its systems and personnel according to rules, the watchdog said without providing additional details.

According to the regulator, at the time, the country's finance ministry should have suspended Huobi's services, during which time customer assets should have been returned within three months. As per firm’s statement all customers have recovered their assets. A digital asset trading license was granted to Huobi Thailand by Thailand’s Ministry of Finance that allowed its users to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Huobi Token and stablecoin USDT with Thai Baht.

In Thailand Huobi’s venture was a relatively short-lived one. According to its parent company’s website, in late February of 2020 the company launched its platform in the country. Over the past 24 hours, Huobi Global, conducting $2.3 billion in trading volume. It is a top-ten exchange as per CoinMarketCap data.

Indrani bose

CBW - External Analyst

INDIA