Justin Sun Confirms Advisory Role in Huobi, Denies Buying It

Just a week after Huobi Global revealed a change in the shareholder structure, Tron founder Justin Sun’s role as a shadow owner of the crypto exchange surfaced. He has, however, refuted claims about a buyout. In fact, Sun’s role has been limited to that of a global advisor.

The development follows reports of Huobi founder Leon Li looking to sell his majority stake for over $1 billion, valuing the exchange at $3 billion.

Justin Sun’s Foray into Huobi

According to the latest statement, Huobi’s majority shareholder, Li, reached an agreement with Hong Kong-based investment firm About Capital Management to sell his entire stake in the exchange. The buyout vehicle of About Capital will control the majority stake in Huobi Global. Interestingly, Justin Sun was said to be the core investor of the M&A fund.

First reported by prominent Chinese crypto journalist Colin Wu, the move implied that Sun was the real buyer of the stake, which is reportedly worth $1 billion. The controversial exec, on the other hand, said that the claim is “wrong.”

Confirming the same, Sun tweeted,

“I am very honored to be appointed as a member of the Global Advisory Board of Huobi Global and work with industry, academic, and policy leaders to help guide and grow this innovative, vibrant, and resilient organization in its latest chapter of global expansion. Full sail ahead.”

The Tron founder has not yet denied his role in About Capital. Huobi, for one, has disclosed the terms of the deal with the latter.

Following the purchase of a majority stake, Huobi formed a five-member global advisory board composed of its co-founder Du Jun, Wang Yang, vice president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Valkyrie Investment CEO Leah Wald, About Capital founder Ted Chen, and Tron’s Justin Sun. The board is tasked with guiding the exchange’s global expansion.

Meanwhile, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was also speculated to have bought a stake in Huobi along with Sun. However, the exec has refuted any sort of participation in his latest tweet, which simply said: “still not involved.”

still not involved

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) October 10, 2022

Huobi’s Roadmap

Following the transaction, Huobi plans to implement a series of new international brand promotion and business expansion initiatives. This included the formation of the global strategic advisory board. Going forward, the crypto exchange will double down on the “injection of sufficient capital in margin and risk provision fund.” Measures to ramp up competitiveness will also be a key focus area.

Founded in 2013, Huobi Global drove China’s crypto boom before the regulators declared all crypto transactions illegal in 2021. To comply with Beijing, Huobi exited from the home market.