By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 22nd, 2024
Following the announcement of its Cloud Wallet service closure, Huobi has advised users to transfer their digital assets elsewhere.
Huobi recently announced the impending closure of its Cloud Wallet service due to “strategic and product adjustments.” According to the crypto exchange, it will effectively shut down its decentralized finance (DeFi) multi-token wallet on May 13th, 2023. The given decommission date means that the Cloud Wallet’s withdrawal and transfer functionalities will work for the next three months. However, Huobi noted that it will discontinue maintenance and upgrades of the Cloud Wallet service today, February 13th.
Huobi Cautions Users against Further Interactions with Cloud Wallet Feature Following Impending Closure
Following the forthcoming shutdown, Huobi cautioned users not to transfer any digital assets to their cloud wallets. Instead, the crypto exchange advised customers still using the cloud wallet to transfer the digital assets to their main exchange accounts. Furthermore, the company stated that these assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto, could also be transferred to other wallet addresses.
Rebranded to iToken last May following a $200 million Huobi Group investment, the Huobi Wallet has onboarded several new features. These features occurred before and after its rebranding, further enhancing user experience and interaction. For instance, the Huobi Cloud Wallet was initially launched in October 2021 as a Huobi Wallet feature. The introduction of the cloud-based service saw users begin to manage digital assets without private keys.
At the time of its introduction, the Huobi custodial wallet service sought to facilitate easier access to DeFi applications and services. This cloud service relied on a third-party management system to store users’ private keys escrow, negating the need for users’ hands-on management. During its years of service, Huobi’s Cloud Wallet initiative allowed users to enjoy seamless synchronization with its features.
Token Delisting
In other recent Huobi news, the exchange delisted 33 tokens early last month. This delisting resulted from a loss in market share from trading risk and low volume. At the time, Huobi explained that most of the tokens violated certain sections of its Token Management Rules, including:
“Huobi reserves the right, based on the severity of the incident, to hide or cease trading in accordance with the following events: 1) [Tokens] Labeled with ‘ST’ warning and not canceled within 30 days. 2) [Tokens] That do not meet the requirement of having $50,000 in daily trading volume.”
Since 2020, Huobi has also lost market share despite being a leading global crypto exchange. The company saw its market share in 2020 recede from 22% to a paltry 4% last year.
Huobi Visa Card Launch
Amid waning market share, Huobi is also branching out into other non-linear crypto ventures to boost profitability. For example, last December, the company announced a partnership with payment-facilitating giant Visa (NYSE: V). This partnership entails the launch and issuance of Huobi Visa cards to bridge the gap between mainstream finance and the crypto ecosystem.
The Huobi Visa card seeks to establish a more seamless and efficient gateway for user fiat-to-crypto conversions. Furthermore, the initiative promotes crypto among Visa’s enormous user base of 3.3 billion people across 200 countries.