Malaysia’s Securities regulator has ordered Huobi Global to stop all activities in the region following the latter’s refusal to register before operating there.
According to a statement released by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SCM) on May 22, Huobi could not register as a cryptocurrency exchange operator and must cease operations.
Additionally, the company has been ordered to disable its website and mobile applications on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The cryptocurrency exchange is also anticipated to cease advertising its products and services to Malaysian consumers via email and social media platforms.
Concerns regarding Huobi’s ‘compliance with local regulatory requirements’ prompted the SCM’s decision, it was stated.
Due to the lack of SCM registration, the regulator has also instructed Malaysian investors to cease trading on the platform, withdraw their funds, and terminate their accounts.
Huobi has been in the crosshairs of the Malaysian Securities regulator since August 2022, when the SCM issued an investor alert warning that the exchange was operating in the country without the proper authorizations.
Following the public announcement, Huobi stated it was in talks with Malaysian regulators regarding its regional operations.
In November 2020, the company launched Huobi Labuan, a brokerage firm with a temporary nine-month period to offer cryptocurrency spot and derivatives trading.
In 2022, Binance established a foothold in the Malaysian market by acquiring a stake in the regulated trading platform MX Global.
Midway through 2021, Binance was in a similar circumstance to Huobi, being ordered to cease regional operations without regulatory approval.
According to the SCM website, only four companies are enrolled as authorized operators of cryptocurrency exchanges.
This group includes Luno Malaysia, MX Global, Sinegy, and Tokenize Technology. The list was most recently updated in August 2022.