In a recent press release, Huobi, a top 5 cryptocurrency exchange based out of Singapore, announced that they are planning to launch a stablecoin as part of their 2019 roadmap.
On January 22, Huobi CFO, Chris Lee spoke at a presentation in Singapore where he hinted that Huobi will be launching their own stablecoin, in addition to updating their trading platform and continuing their internal expansion.
Lee was quoted as saying:
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. This year will be huge for stablecoins and we will be a part of that. Likely Huobi Group will launch its own stablecoin in 2019 in the first half of the year.
“This Year Will Be Huge for Stablecoins”
The end of 2018 saw a slew of stablecoins come to market, and according to Huobi’s CFO, 2019 will be no different.
If anything, this year will be even bigger for stablecoins. For the uninformed, a stablecoin is a cryptocurrency token that’s pegged to a stable value, usually on a one-to-one basis to a stable fiat currency, or algorithmically.
The Huobi exchange has already adopted 4 of the most popular stablecoins and launched their own called HUSD, which is an aggregate of the 4.
The 4 stablecoins listed on Huobi, include Paxos Standard (PAX), True USD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC), and Gemini Dollar (GUSD).
Huobi’s HUSD stablecoin differs from these 4 as it is algorithmically-based on the 4 stablecoins mentioned here, which are pegged to the USD. Huobi doesn’t actually hold any US dollar reserves for their HUSD stablecoin.
Therefore, it is likely that the budding crypto exchange’s new stablecoin to be released this year will more than likely be pegged one-to-one to some kind of fiat currency or stable asset. However, Lee did not disclose any details regarding what it will be pegged to, nor what the coin will be called.
Huobi in 2019
The Huobi crypto exchange is originally from China but has since moved out and opened head offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. The exchange started off relatively small but has been gaining the interest of traders from around the world as they push forward in new jurisdictions.
Just recently, Huobi opened a newly launched crypto exchange in Japan which is fully regulated under Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). They are also in the midst of setting up a new office in London to better serve the European markets.
Huobi is trying to establish themselves in North America, with plans to open offices in Toronto and San Francisco. All in all, Huobi is expanding at a rapid rate and setting themselves up to compete with the bigger exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.
According to CoinMarketCap, Huobi is ranked as a top 5 cryptocurrency exchange in terms of adjusted daily trade volume. If the exchange is successful with their expansions into new jurisdictions, Huobi could very well be a viable competitor to the top crypto exchanges.
What will Huobi’s stablecoin be pegged to? Will it be the US dollar fiat currency, another fiat currency, or something else entirely? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.