Huobi’s controlling shareholder sold its entire stake to an About Capital vehicle

Huobi Global said on October 8, 2022 that its controlling shareholder had transferred the shareholder’s entire holding in the cryptocurrency exchange to a buyout vehicle managed by About Capital Management (HK) Co., Limited. The transaction put the Hong Kong fund manager’s vehicle in control of a majority stake. Financial terms and the precise ownership percentage were not disclosed.

The ownership transfer mattered because it changed control of one of the industry’s major centralized trading venues during a broad digital-asset downturn and after Huobi’s retreat from mainland China. It was an institutional event, not a protocol upgrade or an on-chain transfer that outsiders could independently verify from a public ledger. The strongest evidence was therefore the company’s own dated announcement, supplemented by contemporaneous reporting that identified founder Leon Li as the departing controlling shareholder.

What the parties disclosed

Huobi’s formal notice said the transaction involved a change of controlling shareholder and would not affect its core operations or business-management teams. That was a contemporaneous company claim about expected continuity, not proof that staffing, strategy or risk controls would remain unchanged after October 8, 2022.

About Capital said it planned international brand promotion and business expansion, a global strategic advisory board, additional capital for margin and risk-provision funds, and other measures intended to improve competitiveness. Those items described the buyer’s proposed program. The announcement did not quantify the promised capital, specify a timetable, list the advisory board’s members or publish transaction documents.

The company release described About Capital as a Hong Kong-based fund manager founded in 2008. It also included comments from Huobi founder Leon Li, who framed the sale as part of the exchange’s push toward a more international ownership structure. Contemporaneous reporting by the South China Morning Post said Li confirmed in a WeChat post that he was no longer a Huobi Global shareholder and no longer held authority over the business, directly or indirectly. A Huobi representative told that publication the acquisition price could not be disclosed.

Why control changed

Huobi was founded in 2013 and had grown out of China into an international exchange. Its October 8 announcement said it had completed its exit from mainland China business on December 31, 2021, including the closure of mainland user accounts. That history made the buyer’s stated global-expansion plan more than routine deal language: the platform’s ownership was changing after the loss of its original home market and during a difficult period for crypto valuations and trading businesses.

Still, the surviving October 8 record leaves important boundaries. It does not provide audited financials for Huobi Global, the vehicle’s purchase price, the percentage sold, the financing structure or the regulatory approvals associated with the transfer. It also does not establish whether customer assets, exchange liabilities or affiliated entities were included. “Entire shareholding” referred to the seller’s holding; it did not mean About Capital acquired every share in the company.

What could be concluded on October 8

The verifiable conclusion was narrow but consequential: control of Huobi Global passed from its existing controlling shareholder to an About Capital-managed buyout vehicle, while the exchange publicly promised operational continuity and a new international-growth program. The announcement resolved the identity of the controlling buyer but left the economics and legal architecture of the deal private.

For customers and counterparties, the immediate issue was governance. A change in control can alter capital allocation, risk appetite and strategic priorities even when a company says existing management and operations will continue. On October 8, 2022, those future effects remained uncertain. The disclosed sale established who controlled the exchange; it did not yet demonstrate how that control would be exercised.