Huobi, one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has quietly announced the closure of its cloud wallet Huobi Cloud Wallet, formerly known as iToken. The wallet allows users to keep funds on 20 blockchain networks due to “strategic and product alignment,” according to the company’s statement. The decision was not announced in advance on Huobi or iToken’s Twitter pages.
For years, cloud wallets have been the go-to source for users looking to securely store their coins without having access to their private keys.
However, with the company announcing that they will be going offline on May 13, 2023, now is the time for all investors who still hold tokens in their wallets to transfer them back to their Huobi balances, or from backing self-custody The appropriate blockchain for withdrawing funds from the wallet.
Those who haven't already done so should act quickly; you have three months before your assets become inaccessible! The sudden decision to shut down the cloud wallet surprised users, who were not given prior warning. The move is just one sign of the exchange's troubles, as Huobi's market share has fallen sharply in recent years. Although the company is one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, its market share will drop from 22% to just 4% by 2022.
The cryptocurrency industry is volatile, and Huobi is not immune. In January, the company announced it would cut 20% of its workforce after a surge in exodus.
As a result, the exchange delisted 33 tokens early last month, citing low trading volume and low trading risk as the reasons behind the move. The Singapore-based exchange explained that most tokens violated certain parts of its token governance rules, including failing to meet the daily trading volume requirement of $50,000.
Huobi’s recent move to delist tokens and shut down its cloud wallet may be motivated by the need to improve profitability. The company is now venturing into other non-linear crypto ventures to stay competitive. For example, in December 2022, the exchange announced a partnership with payment convenience giant Visa.
This partnership involves the launch and issuance of the Huobi Visa Card to bridge the gap between the mainstream financial and crypto ecosystems.
The Huobi Visa Card aims to create a more seamless and efficient gateway for users to convert from fiat currency to cryptocurrency, promoting cryptocurrency among Visa's 3.3 billion user base across 200 countries. Despite these efforts, Huobi’s decline in market share remains a concern. The company’s decision to shut down the cloud wallet may come at a difficult time, as users are increasingly concerned about security and transparency.
Huobi will need to take decisive steps to regain users' trust and ensure its services remain competitive in a highly volatile industry. The company’s decision to shut down its cloud wallet without prior notice may have eroded some users’ trust in the exchange, especially as it continues to struggle with low market share.
