FTX CEO denies the exchange was planning to acquire Huobi

FTX has been active in the acquisitions arena this year, snapping up firms like Liquid and Bitvo amid the crypto winter.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of crypto exchange FTX, has said his company does not plan to acquire cryptocurrency exchange Huobi.

The FTX boss, whose firm has in recent months dominated news headlines around huge acquisition and expansion efforts amid the crypto winter, noted in a tweet on Monday:

“Just to be explicit because apparently a lot of people are saying this: No, we are not planning to acquire Huobi.”

Just to be explicit because apparently a lot of people are saying this:

No, we are not planning to acquire Huobi.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) August 29, 2022

Huobi launched in 2013, one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges, and one with a growing footprint following establishments in Korea and Hong Kong.

FTX’s acquisitions and plans

Bankman-Fried’s remarks come after reports surfaced of FTX being in talks to acquire Huobi. 

According to one such recent report, Huobi founder Leon Li had discussed the sale of a majority stake in his company to FTX, with the potential bid then putting the exchange’s valuation at around $3 billion.

Reports also claimed that Tron (TRX/USD) founder and former CEO Justin Sun had also shown interest in Huobi. Sun also refuted the claim.

FTX’s growth plans despite the crypto winter include acquisition of crypto exchange Liquid and trading platform Bitvo. 

The firm, which also has an agreement to acquire crypto lender BlockFi, has reportedly also been in talks to acquire South Korea-based crypto exchange Bithumb.