Huobi Group will launch its own stablecoin in the first half of 2019, according to Chris Lee, the company's CFO and board secretary. He made the announcement on January 20 at an invitation-only event
Huobi Group will launch its own stablecoin in the first half of 2019, according to Chris Lee, the company's CFO and board secretary. He made the announcement on January 20 at an invitation-only event in Singapore.
The year ahead will be better than 2018, Lee predicted at the event. "2018 brought us huge challenges, but I'm personally optimistic about the crypto market. I do think we'll see things get better this year," he said. "This year will be huge for stablecoins and we will be a part of that."
Stablecoins address the volatility problem that defines most digital assets. They maintain stable prices through backing by reserve assets while delivering the benefits of blockchain technology—transparency, security, and privacy. Multiple companies and startups have rushed to develop them. Gemini created the Gemini Dollar (GUSD). Circle and the CENTRE consortium launched USD Coin (USDC). Paxos Trust issued the Paxos Standard token. IBM and Facebook announced stablecoin projects.
Huobi has plans beyond stablecoins for 2019. The company will make major upgrades to its trading systems. It intends to expand Huobi Japan, its Japanese subsidiary that relaunched as a regulated exchange following its merger with BitTrade. The platform now supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), and Monacoin (MONA).
Institutional investors are also a focus. Lee told attendees that 2019 would bring growth in this market segment. "I have 2019 will be a good time for institutional investors. We've real stated to see growth in this area," he said.
Huobi has been expanding its reach. In December it launched a futures trading platform that generated over $20 billion in trading volume within its first month. The company released Huobi Chat in September 2018, a social media platform that offers secure data transfer, payment functionalities, market data, and news.
The main exchange business generates over 70 percent of Huobi's revenue. The bear market forced the company to cut costs in other divisions. It shut down its Shenzhen subsidiary, which employed about 30 people working on new applications. The company cut about 100 positions. CEO Livio Weng Xiaoqi told the South China Morning Post that Huobi remains profitable month to month despite the reductions. The company's payroll now stands at 1,300 people.
Huobi was founded in China in 2013 and ranks among the world's largest bitcoin exchanges by trading volume. When China banned cryptocurrency trading in September 2017, the company shifted its exchange operations to Singapore.
