Huobi Crypto Exchange Set to Launch in the US and Gets FinCEN Registration

In a sign that the crypto sector is beginning to focus on staying on the right side of the authorities, the United States-based operations of the Huobi cryptocurrency exchange has registered in the category of being a ‘money services business’ with the US government. This announcement comes as they prepare to expand their crypto-to-crypto trading in the near future.

Registration Background

Huobi is one of the largest crypto exchanges based in China, and they were first started back in 2013.

As there has been a lot of uncertainty in China with the crypto sector, many companies are looking overseas to expand and safeguard their operations.

The United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) updated their database on March 21, 2018, and it showcased that HBUS Inc. is now registered with the regulatory body.

It was in January 2018 that the exchange announced they were opening offices in San Francisco, with this being their planned hub for the expansion in the US market.

The founder and CEO of Huobi Group Li Lin detailed in a recent announcement that they were planning to launch their US operations in May 2018, which will include a new US-focused crypto-only exchange platform.

This platform will only be for investors in the United States, and it will be a separate entity to the current Huobi platform called Huobi Pro.

American Expansion

By having an exchange in the US, this is a significant stepping stone to getting a foothold in the global market, which will allow the group to expand into other regions if they so wish.

Once they don’t encounter any regulatory issues, they will find it a lot easier to expand into the likes of Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Of course, just because they are registered with the financial authority in the US doesn’t mean that they don’t have to worry about other issues related to having operations in the country from a regulatory point of view.

Regarding federal legislation in the US, at the moment there is no clear-cut set of regulatory requirements when it comes to platforms for crypto-to-crypto trading. This will pose its own set of challenges to overcome if their operations are to be a success.

With the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ramping up their efforts to crackdown on the crypto sector, they may address the issue of crypto-to-crypto trading in the near future, and Huobi will have to comply with whatever comes from that.

Huobi does have some roadmap they can follow: Poloniex, an exchange bought by Circle, has similar operations when it comes to crypto-to-crypto trading in the country.