Crypto Exchange Huobi Global Acquires Latin American Exchange Bitex

Huobi Global, a cryptocurrency exchange with a strong presence in the Asian markets, has announced the acquisition of Bitex, a crypto exchange based in Latin America.

As per the statement issued by Huobi Global, the terms of the deal are confidential and were not disclosed while "it moves to expand its footprint in the fast-growing region."

The terms of the deal were not known.

Bitex was founded in 2014 and has established a strong presence in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The exchange also plans to launch operations in Peru in the near future followed by other Latin American countries. However, Brazil has been excluded from the list for the time being.

“Since Huobi Group first entered the Latin American market, we have seen remarkable growth there and are bullish on our prospects for the region,” Jeffrey Ma, the global head of mergers and acquisitions at Huobi Group said in the statement. “We are pleased to partner with an established player like Bitex, as we look to grow our footprint in Latin America. Our partnership will enable more users to trade with Huobi’s proven security, liquidity, and stability.”

Additionally, Bitex CEO Francisco Buero told CoinDesk that the firm will retain its branding and continue to operate under the same name with the name management team. When the integration of Huobi with Bitex platform is complete, customers will have the access to all the cryptocurrencies that the Seychelles-based exchange has listed on its platform.

Currently, the Latin American exchange has more than 200,000 customers which include individuals, high-net-worth clients, and corporate customers, revealed Buero.

Huobi has been wanting to expand into Latin America since 2019 when it launched Huobi Argentina. Between 2019 and 2021, the firm noted a 1,370% rise in crypto usage in the nation.

"Having grown rapidly after eight years of successful operations, we believe our partnership with Huobi Global will not only support our expansion but also help us better serve our customers, enabling them to access a broader range of digital assets on Huobi Global’s platform,” Buero said Thursday.