Huobi is a market leader in cryptocurrency trading exchanges. Since 2013, the Huobi platform has been a market-leader in cryptocurrency exchanges, and it provides superior features, superior security, and affordable trading costs.
This Huobi Global exchange review will go over the positives and negatives, key features, some background information on the platform, and a comparison to other exchanges. Let’s crack on!
What is Huobi Global?
Currently ranked #10 by Coin Market Cap in terms of trading volume, Huobi Global is one of the ten largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. By Leon Li and Du Jun, Huobi was founded in 2013. Li worked as a computer engineer for Oracle prior to founding Huobi, and Jun founded Golden Finance and Node Capital, two other wildly successful businesses.
Huobi Exchange was founded in China and has a significant market share in Asia. Huobi relocated to the Republic of Seychelles as a result of escalating regulatory crackdowns. In addition to having physical locations in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Huobi also opened a branch in the United States in 2018, but it was forced to close for regulatory reasons. In a recent interview with CNBC, Huobi co-founder Du Jun stated that the company is aiming to reenter the US market as soon as they can secure the necessary licensing.
With the exception of Japan and the United States, residents of most countries can access Huobi Global; however, users in those two nations can also access Huobi Japan and Huobi Korea, respectively. With a strong trading platform and a wide range of tradable markets, Huobi is competing for the same market share as Binance, KuCoin, and OKX. This attracts a group of serious and seasoned traders.
The exchange itself will be covered in a later section of this review, but for now, let’s focus on the key features that Huobi Global has to offer in addition to its trading exchange.
We’ve broken down the top exchanges in various categories to make it easier for you to find the one that best suits your needs, so if you’re curious how Huobi compares to other crypto exchanges, feel free to read our Top Exchanges article.
Pros & Cons of Huobi Global
Pros
- Offers deep liquidity in ETH/USDT and BTC/USDT trading pairs
- Supports over 400 cryptocurrencies
- Allows users to earn high yields on their deposited funds
- Has many security features
- Charges a competitive fee of 0.2% per orders
- Has an advanced user interface
- Has a reserve to compensate users in case of a security breach
Cons
- Is not beginner-friendly
- Hasn’t been regulated by government or financial bodies
- Mobile app is hard to navigate
Is Huobi Global Safe to Use?
Huobi Global is very secure in terms of security. In the nine years the platform has been running, their strict security protocols have not once been violated, and Huobi has a healthy reserve fund to pay traders back if necessary.
Many traders and investors are concerned about Huobi because it is an unregulated exchange. Since regulated exchanges are perceived as being safer, many cryptocurrency users will choose them over unregulated ones like Crypto.com, Binance, Kraken, or SwissBorg. I concur with this statement.
Huobi Global Security
Huobi Global follows industry best practices and strict security compliance standards. Users can rest easy knowing they have a good chance of getting back any lost funds because they hold client funds in a multi-signature cold wallet and maintain a 20,000 BTC Security Reserve Fund that was set up to reimburse funds in the event of security accidents.
Fortunately, Huobi has never needed to use the Security Fund because, along with SwissBorg and Kraken, they are among the select few exchanges that have never been the target of a successful hack.
With multi-factor encryption, cold storage, and round-the-clock platform monitoring, Huobi keeps its money offline. From the user side, Huobi traders have peace of mind of being able to access the following account security features:
- Minimum password requirements
- 2FA
- Whitelist withdrawal addresses
- Trading password
- Anti-phishing code
- Account Freeze option
How is Huobi Regulated by Governments?
It’s critical to keep in mind that Huobi trades on an international market that is largely unregulated. The platform is run by an unlicensed organization and is based in Seychelles. This prevents it from functioning in a lot of international locations.
Trading on Huobi should take this into account if you value governmental regulations. Huobi may not also be available in the nation or area you reside in.
In January 2023, the Thai SEC also announced that it would revoke the platform’s license due to “irreparable” regulatory breaches. As a result, Huobi’s operations in Thailand were shut down by the Thai SEC, and the Ministry of Finance was advised to revoke the platform’s license.
Can I Use Huobi in the US?
The Huobi platform is unavailable in the US, so you cannot use it there. However, Huobi has a different platform called HBUS. It is the US Strategic Partner for the platform.
On HBUS, trade commissions are only 0.1%. But be aware that using a VPN to trade on Huobi Global in the US is also not permitted.
Huobi is available in many countries worldwide, such as Australia, Tonga, Oman, Bahamas, Kuwait, Belarus, Jamaica, Chile, Nepal, Canada, Japan, Maldives, etc. The platform also has trading offices and operation centers in Korea, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and a few other nations.
Deposits and Withdrawals at Huobi
Huobi supports cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals; however, fiat withdrawals are not supported, with the exception of USD via an Stcoins API key and TRY via AdvCash. The following deposit methods are supported:
USD– Purchase crypto via card, Bank transfer/ABA, SWIFT, SEN fiat deposits
EUR– Purchase crypto via card, Bank Transfer/SEPA fiat deposits
GBP– Purchase crypto via card, Bank Transfer/ Faster Payments fiat deposits
BRL– Bank transfer (PIX)
RUB– Bank card, Bank Transfer, AdvCash
UAH– Bank card, AdvCash
KZT– AdvCash
INR– Buy USDT via UPI/Bank Transfer
TRY– AdvCash
The following list of supported currencies can be used to buy cryptocurrency with a debit or credit card: BGN, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HRK, HUF, MDL, MKD, NOK, PLN, RON, SEK, TRY, UAH, HKD, AUD, NZD, KZT, PHP and USD.
What Can Be Improved
The absence of support for fiat withdrawal is the obvious drawback. Traders on Huobi need to withdraw crypto to another exchange to use as a fiat offramp if they wish to avoid the complex USD withdrawal system.
Huobi could do more to build out its earn section as well, with the Primepool running more events too. If Huobi wants to compete with the likes of Binance and KuCoin, they will need to increase their earn feature products and offerings as they are falling behind the competition.
I also don’t like how the team is neglecting the web platform in favor of the mobile app. The web interface shouldn’t feel like an abandoned, forgotten part of the exchange, and cryptocurrency platforms on the web and via mobile apps should work in tandem rather than one completely dominating the other.
Is Huobi Global Better Than OKX?
Because OKX is the more well-known and widely used exchange, in my opinion and the opinion of the larger crypto community, Huobi Global is not superior to OKX. OKX is superior for the following reasons:
- OKX offers more tradeable assets and markets
- OKX is a more feature-packed exchange, offering more products and features outside of just crypto trading
- OKX has deeper liquidity
- In our OKX Review, you can read more about OKX.
Is Huobi Global Better Than Binance?
Since Binance is the biggest exchange in the world with the largest user base, in my opinion and the opinion of the larger crypto community, Huobi Global is not superior to Binance. Binance is better than Huobi Global for the following reasons:
- Binance is regulated in multiple jurisdictions
- Binance has lower fees
- Binance offers more Earn products and features
- Binance has more tradeable assets and markets
- Binance has more “all-around” crypto features making it the better platform for daily crypto use.
Is Huobi Good for Beginners?
Due to its sophisticated user interface and abundance of trading features that are only useful to experienced traders, Huobi Global is not a good option for beginners. Additionally, there is a wealth of crypto jargon used in the analytics and other information on the platform, which may be difficult for beginners to understand.
Conclusion
As a result of its outstanding features, security, and affordable trading fees, Huobi has been a prominent cryptocurrency exchange since 2013. The user interface is also well-designed, and the variety of supported coins and trading pairs will satisfy the majority of altcoin traders.
A diverse exchange with something for everyone is Huobi. Huobi is an incredibly flexible all-in-one crypto exchange that offers staking, trading bots, and crypto loans. It is likely to appeal to seasoned traders looking for a single central hub to interact with the crypto space. Overall, Huobi is a good choice for traders of all levels who want a platform to support a wide range of activities in the cryptocurrency space.
FAQs
Are Huobi Fees High?
The Huobi fees seem to be a little higher than the global industry average, according to various Huobi reviews that are available online.
Is Huobi Trusted?
Huobi is a relatively secure platform that offers its users a variety of safety measures. Additionally, the platform has a reserve to cover traders’ losses in the event of a security breach or other unforeseeable risks. When selecting a platform for crypto trading, traders should take into account the platform’s lack of regulation.
Can I Withdraw from Huobi?
Log into Huobi App and click [Balances]. 2. Search for the token you want to withdraw by clicking [Withdraw] first. Please make sure that you select the same chain as the chain of the platform or wallet you are withdrawing funds to.
Is Huobi Staking Safe?
Huobi Earn is reliant on the Huobi risk management system, and all user assets deposited in Huobi Earn are safe and secure.