Securities and Exchange Commission revoked operating license of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Thailand


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