Huobi Exchange Boosts Latin America Presence with Bitex Acquisition
In an announcement made on Thursday, Chinese crypto exchange Huobi said it had acquired Latin American crypto exchange Bitex to expand its presence in the region.
In a statement, Huobi explains that Bitex’s exchange platform will integrate with its global platform, while it will continue operating under its current name and management team in Latin America.
Bitex was founded in 2014 and with over 200,000 active accounts operates in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, serving a broad range of customers like individuals, high-net-worth clients and corporations
The exchange is soon launching operations in Peru and thereafter plans to penetrate other undisclosed Latin American countries.
Jeffrey Ma, Global Head of M&A at Huobi Group, said:
“Since Huobi Group first entered the Latin American market, we have seen remarkable growth there and are bullish on our prospects for the region. We are pleased to partner with an established player like Bitex, as we look to grow our footprint in Latin America. Our partnership will enable more users to trade with Huobi’s proven security, liquidity, and stability.”
Caleb Lim, Senior Investment Manager at Huobi Group, added:
“Currently, only about half of Latin American’s population own bank accounts. Through this acquisition, Huobi Global hopes to meet this growing appetite for alternative financial services through blockchain technology. We intend to add more local fiat currencies and work with local partners to expand our ecosystem into Latin America.”
Bitex CEO Francisco Buero said:
“Bitex was founded to protect the value of our users’ money, in the wake of major financial crises in Latin America. Having grown rapidly after eight years of successful operations, we believe our partnership with Huobi Global will not only support our expansion, but also help us better serve our customers, enabling them to access a broader range of digital assets on Huobi Global’s platform. Additionally, Huobi Global’s strong track record in security will help safeguard our important mission as we continue to operate as a borderless exchange.”
Huobi closed its operations in China and Singapore last year in compliance with the outright ban on crypto-related transactions, leading to a significant drop in revenue.
Company co-founder Du Ju earlier this year said to fear that Bitcoin’s historical four-year pattern points to the start of a Bitcoin winter and that a new bull market might be years away.
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Source: igaming
