Huobi's US expansion is one step closer after securing a FinCEN license

06-Jul-2022 By: Anirudh Trivedi

Huobi's US expansion is one step closer after securing a FinCEN license

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has granted HBIT Inc, a subsidiary of the Huobi crypto exchange, a Money Services Business (MSB) license.

Huobi, which has its headquarters in Seychelles, stated on July 5 that the license lays the groundwork for it to eventually do cryptocurrency-related business in the United States as part of its strategic goals of "globalization and compliance." According to sources, the exchange has a significant presence and has transacted more than $1 billion in the last 24hrs.

Prior to the massive crackdown on cryptocurrencies by Chinese authorities, the majority of Huobi users were Chinese, but according to Statista's most recent data, the majority of users in February 2022 were from Russia and Ukraine.

To enable FinCEN to monitor financial crimes including money laundering, U.S. officials mandated that Huobi's subsidiary obtain an MSB license that permits it to transport money and function as a fiat currency exchange.

However, it prohibits it from offering cryptocurrency exchange services, which would call for a money transmitter license. It claims that in the future it intends to provide US consumers with a legal digital asset service.

According to Huobi, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has also granted asset management and securities advisory licenses to its companies there.

In order to operate as a fully legal crypto-exchange in Hong Kong, the subsidiaries are also in the process of seeking for a license to offer automated trading services and securities trading.

Huobi has been on a streak of licensing wins

On June 21, the exchange received licenses for New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. While not a trading license, the latter was an innovation license that gave it access to the regional tech industry and preferential tax benefits.

At the time, Huobi Group Chief Financial Officer Lily Zhang stated the company intended to obtain a license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to provide its entire range of cryptocurrency exchange services.

However, not all the news has been good; on June 16, the exchange's Thai license was apparently suspended because it had allegedly violated local laws. Additionally, there are speculations that the company's founder may be considering selling the company and that there may be massive employee layoffs.

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