Huobi’s Founder Looking to Sell His Stake in the Company for $3 Billion (Report)

The founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Group – Leon Li – is said to be in talks with numerous investors regarding selling his majority stake in the firm for nearly $3 billion. Some of those in discussion with him are supposedly Justin Sun and Sam Bankman-Fried.

• As reported by Bloomberg, the Chinese crypto mogul Leon Li seeks to sell his stake in Huobi, which represents 60% of the entity he established nearly ten years ago.
• According to people familiar with the matter, Li has informed major financial backers of his firm, including ZhenFund and Sequoia China, about his decision. The deal (which is expected to range between $2 billion and $3 billion) could be signed as soon as the end of August. A spokesman confirmed Li’s intentions, saying:

He hopes that the new shareholders will be more powerful and resourceful and that they will value the Huobi brand and invest more capital and energy to drive the growth of Huobi.

• Prominent names in the sector, such as Justin Sun and Sam Bankman-Fried, are rumored to be some of the potential buyers. However, Sun said he had not discussed the deal with Li, while an FTX spokesperson declined to comment.
• A separate report released a month ago also hinted at Li’s intentions to sell his stake in the trading venue. Back then, many joked that Sam Bankman-Fried had the best chances to ink an agreement with Huobi’s executive since FTX had been on a shopping spree during the bear market.
• Huobi Group is among the leading crypto exchange worldwide. Nonetheless, it had to cope with some considerable issues in the past few years, including the crypto crackdown in China, which affected its revenue.
• The company tried to strengthen its global presence in the previous months by receiving regulatory approval in different countries. Two weeks ago, the Australian financial watchdogs also gave the green light.
• Like many other exchanges, Huobi had to lay off some of its staff due to the crypto winter and the investors’ outflow. As CryptoPotato reported in June, the firm dismissed at least 30% of its total workforce.