Crypto exchange Huobi yesterday issued an announcement in simplified Chinese saying that it would implement a “T+1” withdrawal freezing time for all over-the-counter trades, meaning that traders can transfer cryptocurrency out only 24 hours after depositing it. In some cases, the freeze will last up to 36 hours.
Fast facts
- At present, the announcement appears only on the exchange’s simplified Chinese page and not in other languages.
- OTC trades take place directly between two parties without a platform. On Huobi, they mostly involve exchanging fiat for cryptocurrency. A report on crypto crime by Chainalysis blames OTC trading for facilitating money laundering, and says Huobi received 24.7% of the world’s illicit Bitcoin in 2019.
- As early as August last year, Huobi announced a trial of the freeze a policy on its simplified Chinese website. When users’ behavior triggers certain restrictions, they receive a warning and the platform freezes deposited cryptocurrency for at least 24 hours. In March 2021, Huobi announced that it planned to extend the policy to more users.
- Amid a Chinese crackdown on cryptocurrency, Huobi stopped offering crypto derivatives trading to users in China and Taiwan on June 28. It also stopped hosting Bitcoin mining services, providing leverage trading, and prevented new users from China registering at the end of May.
- Huobi Global is currently the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. Compared with Binance, Huobi is still more favored by Chinese authorities.