Gibraltar-based Huobi Brokerage launches first digital asset brokerage
One of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Huobi, is launching its first licensed digital asset brokerage, Huobi Brokerage. The Gibraltar-based platform will now provide brokerage services to institutional clients. It is also the first product to be launched under the company’s Global Institutional Business (GIB) division which was formed in November 2019 as part of Huobi’s effort to improve services to institutional investors in the global market. GIB is a central part of Huobi’s international expansion strategy, which the company has identified as its top priority for 2020.
Huobi announced the news at the World Economic Forum at Davos, stating that it will initially support a total of six cryptocurrencies and stablecoins for block trades at launch. The service will initially support Bitcoin and the remaining five coins are to be USD-pegged stablecoins, including Tether, the Paxos Standard token, TrueUSD, Circle-backed USD Coin and HUSD which is Huobi’s own stablecoin asset. It is generally expected that other major cryptocurrencies such as Ether, XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin will be available on Huobi Brokerage by the end of January 2020.
Furthermore, Huobi Brokerage’s platform will connect with other exchanges and over the counter desks. The platform is integrated with other crypto exchanges and OTC platforms through smart order routing technology. The aim of this is to improve price and boost liquidity. Ciara Sun, the Vice President of Global Business at Huobi Group is reported by CoinDesk as saying: “One of the core value propositions of Huobi Brokerage is that it provides clients with best-price execution on large block orders.”
Placing this move into context, Grayscale Investments, the major digital currency asset manager, recently pointed out that, in its view, the crypto industry is experiencing institutional adoption, having noted a strong wave of institutional interest in the cryptoeconomy throughout 2019. Since setting up the GIB division in November 2019, Huobi reportedly saw its institutional business soar with the onboarding of some 1,700 institutional clients.
