Huobi’s HT Token Plunges Amid Staff Layoff Rumors
The HT token of Huobi has plummeted by over 12% in the past 24 hours, driven by rumors concerning the exchange’s operations.
HT Token Falls Sharply Due to Layoff Speculations
According to CoinMarketCap data, Huobi's HT token has dropped more than 12% in the last 24 hours, despite the broader crypto market remaining relatively stable. The current HT price has returned to levels seen in September 2022, when the token surged following news of Justin Sun's acquisition of Huobi.
Huobi’s 24-hour trading volume has also decreased significantly, down by over 33% to $367 million.
Ok. It is my turn. Ignore FUD. Keep building! @cz_binance https://t.co/0fCHkYoL7S
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) January 6, 2023
Data from Nansen indicates that in the past day, Huobi experienced a net outflow of $87.6 million in funds (measured on Ethereum), starkly outweighing the $25 million in deposits.
Ethereum Inflows/Outflows Statistics as of January 6, 2023. Source: Nansen
The TRX token of TRON, a blockchain project founded by Justin Sun, has also seen a notable decline as of the writing of this article.
4-Hour TRX/USDT Chart on Binance as of 11:30 AM, January 6, 2023
The drop in HT token value is linked to rumors about internal instability at Huobi. Sources from Wu Blockchain report that Huobi has ended end-of-year bonuses for all employees and is preparing to lay off a substantial number of staff.
Justin Sun's HR is communicating with all Huobi employees to change the salary form from fiat currency to USDT/USDC; employees who cannot accept it may be dismissed. The move sparked protests from some employees. Exclusive https://t.co/QB4sjDyHc7
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 4, 2023
Moreover, there are claims that the exchange is now requiring employees to accept salaries in USDT and USDC instead of traditional cash payments, leading to discontent among the staff.
At @HuobiGlobal, we are committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. That's why we are proud to announce that we will be hiring more female employees in the future.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) December 29, 2022
Despite these rumors, Huobi’s new owner, Justin Sun, recently denied the layoff claims in an interview with SCMP. He also stated on Twitter that the exchange will focus on hiring more women to enhance diversity within the team.
In mid-December, Huobi was ranked last by CryptoQuant in terms of “clean reserves”—i.e., the proportion of assets held on the exchange that are not HT tokens. While platforms like OKX and Crypto.com have clean reserve ratios close to 100% and Binance near 89%, Huobi’s ratio was only 56%, indicating that nearly half of the assets on the exchange are HT tokens.
Recently, Huobi also generated buzz by announcing the listing of Pi Network (PI), despite the project not yet having released its token.
