Huobi clears the air about an executive’s rumoured arrest

The accusations first appeared on Chinese social media, alleging that authorities had taken Robin Zhu, Huobi Global's chief operating officer, into custody. The post spread across the wider crypto community. No documentation or corroborating details emerged to back up the claim.

Huobi's response came through Twitter. The exchange stated: "We have become aware of rumours within our community about the arrest of a Huobi senior executive by local officials. We can share with confidence that these rumours are false." It continued: "All of Huobi's management team members have been accounted for and have not been detained or arrested. We understand that the spread of false information can lead to concerns about the safety of user assets, but please rest assured your assets are safe."

The denial did little to settle trader nerves. Withdrawals from Huobi's Bitcoin holdings surged as users fled in response to the OKEx situation, unwilling to chance their money on an exchange dealing with management detentions. The precedent from OKEx changed everything: users no longer waited for verification before moving their funds.

A different signal came from Tether flows. The stablecoin saw $400 million move into Huobi during the panic. This inflow might reflect traders rotating into stablecoin holdings as a temporary hedge while they decided whether to keep funds on the platform. Restoring confidence in such moments takes more than a company statement.