Huobi Indonesia Gets Fiat-Crypto Gateway for the Rupiah

The Huobi Group, the operators of one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is expanding its reach significantly and taking steps to improve the ease with which its customers can access digital assets. 

On December 27, the Group announced that it had launched a new fiat-crypto gateway on its platform, providing direct trading between the Rupiah (the fiat currency of Indonesia) and up to 250 digital assets. As the release states, the new gateway will be local to Huobi Indonesia (the country’s Indonesia-focused subsidiary).

“The new fiat gateway is part of Huobi’s global expansion strategy and reflects our ongoing commitment to working with strong local partners in key markets across the globe […] By continuing to add new fiat/crypto pairs for Huobi Cloud 2.0, we want to make it frictionless for investors anywhere in the world to trade digital assets on a trusted and proven platform,” commented David Chen, the Senior Director of Huobi Cloud. 

The company expressed its belief that Indonesia is an important country as far as cryptocurrency adoption is concerned, and as they see it, the new fiat gateway will make it easier for crypto investors and traders in the country to make money through trades and convert their digital assets. 

Huobi Indonesia chief executive Xiong Dan added, “We will continue to expand the Indonesian market, consolidate and improve service quality.”

Part of an Eastern Expansion for Huobi 

Huobi has been doing quite a lot to focus its services in the far east. Just last week, Japanese financial services firm Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings announced in a press release that it would be investing about 500 million Yen (about $4.6 million) into Huobi Japan. Per the release, the investment is part of a broader collaboration between the financial services firm and the exchange, with Tokai working to acquire shares in the exchange. 

Tokai is hoping that this new partnership will help promote its venture into the cryptocurrency space, as it plans to do more business in the fields of local currency issuance, crypto asset management, Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs), as well as crypto management and storage services. 

Done with the United States? 

While the company has done rather well in the traditional financial space, the company explained that it would be looking to adopt emerging technologies (including blockchain and crypto) as part of its business development strategy.

However, the company hasn’t had much luck with the United States. On December 9, HBUS, its U.S.-based operator, announced that it would be closing its shop. In a tweet, the San Francisco-based crypto trading firm explained that the move was necessary, as it was looking to “return in a more integrated and impactful fashion as part of its ongoing strategic layout.”

HBUS Cease to Operate: We regret to inform you that HBUS will need to cease operations so that it can return in a more integrated and impactful fashion as part of its ongoing strategic layout. Please refer to our FAQ and contact support@hbus.com

— Huobi US (@Huobi_US) December 9, 2019

Huobi also announced back in November that it would be freezing the accounts of all its U.S. customers. Explaining the rationale for this decision, the company claimed that the country’s regulatory environment had made it impossible for it to serve U.S.-based users. While the company assured users that it wouldn’t exit the country, it nudged them to HBUS. Now that the latter is closing down as well, it seems that the curtains are starting to fall on Huobi’s entire U.S. presence.