Huobi to Launch a Crypto-to-Fiat Debit Card as HT Token Plunges

Huobi, the troubled global crypto exchange, announced that it will start providig debit cards in Europe. The Visa card will be provided through a partnership with Solaris, a fast-growing fintech startup that provides B2B services. 

Huobi has been under pressure

Huobi has been a company under pressure. A few months ago, the company’s founder sold his stake to a group of investors associated with Justin Sun, the founder of Tron. It has also struggled after the collapse of FTX, which was the second-biggest crypto exchange in terms of valuation.

Since then, investors have been wondering whether Huobi could be the next company to fall because of its regulatory status. The company has licenses in places like Seychelles, Dubai, and British Virgin Islands. It is not regulated by American regulators. 

Also, it has not published its proof of reserves and the company has previously been accused of holding vast amounts of its internal tokens like FTT. As a result, data shows that customers have withdrawn more than $158 million worth of coins from its exchange. It now has over $3 billion worth of assets, with those clean ones being worth over $2.1 billion.

Huobi to unveil a debit card

In a statement, Huobi said that it will launch a Visa-enabled debit card in the second quarter of 2023. The firm will do that by partnering with Solaris, one of the biggest business-to-business startup in Europe. This crypto-to-fiat debit card will enable Huobi’s customer to spend digital coins globally. 

As a result, the card will remove the friction that exists currently in the crypto industry. For exchanges without a debit card, users need to first withdraw their funds to spend them. Another advantage for cardholders is that Huobi Token holders will be able to earn cashback. In a statement, Justin Sun said:

“Huobi highly values our user experience and continuously works to drive improvement for users. This partnership will help us deliver a better experience to our users.” 

Huobi Token reacted mildly to the report. It was trading at $5, which was about 32% below the highest point in December. It has fallen by over 71% from its 2021 high.