Huobi Halts Derivative Trading in New Zealand

Huobi Global, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its temporary shutdown of derivatives trading in New Zealand following new crypto regulations put in place against derivatives trading.
According to the statement posted on the Houbi website, the derivatives trading will shut down starting August 23, and on the same day, Houbi will no longer accept users in New Zealand to access customer-verified locations, alongside IP addresses.
“Huobi Global will cease intake of users with New Zealand KYC and IP addresses effective from 23 August 2022, Huobi Global will disallow New Zealand-based users who do not hold any derivative positions from opening new positions effective from 23 August 2022” the statement read in part.

Houbi says it’s committed to New Zealand’s regulations

In compliance with the policies set by the regulators, Houbi says its commitment to implementing them and the suspension of its derivative trading aims to ensure the safety of consumer assets.
“Huobi Global will only allow New Zealand-based users to close out active positions effective from 23 August 2022.”

Other services provided by Houbi that will no longer be extended to New Zealand’s users include coin-margined futures and swaps, Tether (USDT), options, margined contracts, and any exchange-traded products (ETP)

Houbi faces challenges in other countries

On June 21, Huobi was handed a registration license by the Financial Services Provider Register in New Zealand to extend its crypto trading services to one of the friendliest countries for virtual currencies as a regulated foreign currency exchange and asset management firm.

It also offers services to other countries but has also had a difficult time due to the authority’s attitudes towards crypto. In Thailand, Houbi’s trading license was revoked by the SEC, and in China, it was forced to leave the country when the government suspended cryptocurrencies.

In a related development, Leon Li the Houbi co-founder announced he was selling his 60% stake for $3 billion. It’s not clear whether this decision was influenced by the performance of the company.

New Zealand is friendly market for crypto

Over the years, New Zealand has been recommended by market analysts as a supportive country for blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies. Crypto trading in New Zealand has grown and has stimulated investors to pour more money in the new digital assets and emerging start-ups.

For Be[In]Crypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here.