Huobi Global Review – Is It Safe to Buy and Sell Crypto?

With a daily trading volume of over $35 billion, Huobi Global takes the stage as one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. If you are looking for an exchange with many crypto assets, ample leverage, and a myriad of trade options, including futures, then Huobi Global is an option for you.

However, this article examines everything about Huobi Global, its offerings, as well as its pros and cons. From this, you can decide if it’s a suitable crypto exchange for you. Let’s forge ahead!

At a Quick Glance

Key Findings 

Huobi Global offers a top-notch trading experience. You can trade futures, create order books, and place orders. You can also trade with 5X leverage on OTC and with a broker.

Huobi’s exchange is well-designed and drafted to meet the demands of advanced traders. Although, beginners can still find their way around. Its team of professionals ensures that the platform meets up to its standard.

You can get started on Huobi Global by signing up and accessing its tons of features, products, and services.

What is Huobi Global?

Huobi Global is a crypto exchange platform founded in 2013 in China. It has headquarters in Singapore and offices in several major cities, including the United States, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan. 

Apart from Huobi Global, other major Huobi distributions are Huobi Japan, Huobi China, and Huobi Korea. Huobi Global has a presence in over 130 countries worldwide. There are over 370 crypto assets currently traded on the Huobi exchange, with BTC, USDT, and ETH topping the charts in terms of trade volume.

You can trade over 200 pairs of these cryptocurrencies. The Huobi Global team manages the platform and oversees the platform’s day-to-day running, developing, and integrating blockchain innovations into the system.

The exchange is the subsidiary of the Huobi Group listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and has over $1 billion in assets and subsidiaries. Huobi Global has subcategories such as Huobi Pro and Huobi.US.

Range of Offering

Huobi has tons of offerings and products. In a bid to project decentralized finance (DeFi) to the next generation, Huobi China operates as a blockchain research initiative, following the ban of cryptocurrencies in the country.

Huobi Token (HT) and HUSD

Huobi coin, also known as Huobi Token (HT), is Huobi’s governance token. At the time of writing this article, its value is over $14, with a trading volume of over $425 million and a market capitalization of $2.46 billion.

Huobi USD (HUSD) is a stable coin by Huobi global that is in a ratio of 1:1 with US dollars. It has a daily trade volume of over $400 million and is traded in pairs with other cryptocurrencies on Huobi and beyond.

Huobi Wallet

Huobi provides a secure digital wallet for users to hold, spend and withdraw cryptos. It supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies. You can also use this wallet to lock in and stake your cryptocurrencies. When there is a need, you can transfer your crypto to an external wallet quickly. 

Huobi Pool and ETH 2.0 Protocol

The token allows you to participate in Huobi’s staking protocols, including the Huobi liquidity pool known as PrimePool. Its staking protocol has an APY that stretches from 8% to over 135% depending on the crypto asset you stake and that you wish to withdraw in. 

Huobi also integrates the ETH 2.0 protocol to enable you to stake ETH to earn multi-asset rewards like Beacon ETH (BETH) and HPT, both traded in pairs with USDT on the platform. ETH 2.0 staking comes in four phases, and in-between combines the features of PoW and PoS protocols to create a more innovative functionality for the Ethereum ecosystem.

Huobi creates an avenue for you to participate in ETH 2.0 by contributing a minimum of 0.1 ETH through pool staking, compared to the 32 ETH in the single staking mining protocol. The APY is between 6-20% and depends on the amount staked. Huobi Global bears the risk of confiscation, meaning that your funds are safe when you lock ETH through Huobi.

However, as a newbie, it is ideal to start with Huobi Primepool to make it easier for you to provide more liquidity to the platform and earn high returns on your investment.

You have an option to stake tokens like HT, CLV, BTC, CSPR, and more in both its single staking and pool staking protocols. By locking these coins on the platform for some days, usually 3-7 days or more, you earn interest rates that are relatively okay compared to other staking exchanges.

Huobi Crypto Loan

Huobi Crypto Loan offering allows you to borrow low-interest loans easily. By signing up and navigating to the Crypto Loan section, you can pledge the amount of crypto you want to use as collateral and enter the crypto asset and equivalent amount you need.

Huobi pays you through the crypto you’ve pledged and not the Huobi’s HT token. So, if you hold HT, you should consider converting it to another crypto on the exchange. 

Annual interest rates of 18.25% apply, with a daily interest rate of 0.05%, a relatively small percentage compared to other loan exchanges. You must also stick to the repayment time or have your collateral liquidated.

The loan to value (LTV) of Huobi is from 65% to 85%. Meaning that for crypto borrowed, you must pledge at least 2-3X the amount borrowed. You get your collateral on returning the loan.

An alternative to borrowing loans on Huobi is to submit a loan request to customer support. However, you should avoid this medium, as customer support may take longer to respond.

Huobi Earning

Huobi increases your profit margin through its Huobi Earning offering. You can provide liquidity on various options and crypto assets and earn rewards with APYs from 20% to 50%.

The earning package comes in four categories which you can subscribe and deposit funds to:

• Featured Earning: Huobi lists random investment options for which you deposit relative coins within a stipulated period of seven days. APYs in this category range from 4% to 100%.
• Flexible Earning: There is no stipulated withdrawal period in this option. Once subscribed, you can deposit and withdraw funds anytime you want. Huobi compounds APYs daily, making it easier to know your investment’s worth at every point in time. Since this option compounds APYs daily, it has lesser APYs, usually from 0.1 – 10%.
• Fixed Earning: There is a stipulated time in fixed earnings, usually from 7 – 90 days or more. There is more APY than in the flexible earning, from 4-50%, and you cannot withdraw funds until the lock-in period is over. 
• First Timer Earning: Huobi offers newbies an exclusive earning option and commission. As a first-timer, you earn an increased percentage rate on your investment in both the fixed and flexible earning categories.

Huobi Earning is an alternative to staking and provides more returns than staking. Instead of locking your coins, you can join any four categories and increase your earning portfolio.

To join Huobi Earning, you must first sign in, deposit some crypto or visit Uniswap to exchange coins to preferred crypto. You also buy directly from Huobi. Afterward, proceed to Huobi Earning and subscribe to any of the earning categories. You can withdraw funds after the lock-in period.

Huobi Structured Earning

Huobi Structured Earning allows you to personalize and customize your investment options. It has two categories that include 

Dual Currency Investment: You combine two crypto assets or options and lock-in your investment within a period. There is a Two-Asset Yield Aggregator for compounding asset rewards during this period, usually 7-60 days. APY stretches from 7% up to 235%.

Asset Servicing: In this investment option, you can customize your payment options. Risk management is high, and investment is usually long term between 90 – 180 days. Annual rates also range from 5 – 51%.

To join Huobi Structured Earning, you have to apply by filling this form. Application takes 1-3 days to complete. You have to complete your KYC and enter the necessary details. If you encounter difficulties joining the program, you can contact Huobi customer support for detailed guidance.

Buy and Sell Crypto

You can buy crypto directly from Huobi using credit/debit cards, crypto-to-crypto, or P2P. The minimum amount to buy is usually $15 for high-volume cryptocurrencies. 

For crypto-to-crypto, you can buy elsewhere and deposit to your Huobi account using a wallet address. You can also sell to local crypto users using applicable rates on Huobi’s P2P network.

Huobi DeFi Lab

To keep blockchain solutions rolling on the wheel, Huobi Global, through its DeFi Labs program, seeks to provide the blockchain ecosystem with research and findings, fund innovative projects, and collaborate with developers on projects. DeFi Labs aims to test new blockchain innovations in the DeFi community and integrate them properly.

Huobi Eco Chain

Also called Hecochain, Huobi Eco supports DeFi developers to build intuitive and eco-friendly dApps at the lowest costs possible. For just $0.001, developers can leverage Huobi’s tools to build DeFi solutions such as Yield farming protocols, Staking, and other DeFi applications.

Huobi partners with other DeFi blockchain platforms to ease developers in running Ethereum protocols and smart contracts for their dApps. The Hecochain protocol supports various wallets and crypto assets, making building multi-asset dApps easier and more secure.

Huobi Cloud

Developers looking forward to building secure and timely DeFi solutions may use Huobi Cloud to deploy protocols for their platforms. Huobi Cloud offers you as a developer the support and platform to create a standard exchange that executes timely and accurate trades.

Commission and Fee Structure

On signing up to the Huobi exchange platform and completing basic tasks such as KYC verification, depositing crypto, and starting to trade, you get a welcome bonus worth about $170 and spread across some tasks. 

You must complete at least one of the tasks before the 15-day deadline to enable you to withdraw your reward in Point Cards. The campaign is exclusive to new users, and withdrawal is only made once and within 30 days after the 15 days task completion deadline. Users from China, Singapore, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba do not participate in the package.

Also, when your invitees sign up using your referral code, you earn a 30% commission on their deposits. Huobi also offers discounts on trades if you trade or hold its governance token in high volumes.

You may use point cards won in-between performing tasks or bonuses to pay for trading fees or any other transaction fee other than withdrawal fees. However, Huobi credits your account with bonuses other than point cards. 

You can only spend your point card bonus but not withdraw it. You can check your point card balance on your account dashboard and activate it whenever you need to. If you experience difficulties redeeming and activating your point card, you can contact customer support to guide you through it.

The fee structure on Huobi is relatively low compared to standard trading fees. In-house fees also apply when you use any of the platform’s products and services.

Trading fees include a 0.2% maker fee and a 0.2% taker fee. Standard credit/debit card processing fees may apply as well. Fees also apply when you do spots or futures trading.

Discounts apply when you trade using HT tokens or are part of the VIP trading, including traders who trade high-volume cryptocurrencies or futures.

Ease of Account Opening

Opening an account with Huobi Global is as easy as powering on your device and turning it off. 

• Just visit the website, and at the top right corner, tap “Sign Up or Register.”
• Next, you enter your email and choose a password. Then go to your email and confirm your email address by copying and pasting the 5-digit code sent to your email in the box provided on Huobi.
• Proceed to claim your welcome bonus by completing your KYC and depositing or buying crypto assets on the platform.
• Next is to start trading or personalizing your trading experience. 

Depending on the ISP speed, signing up on Huobi Global shouldn’t take you more than 2 minutes. Huobi made it so easy that even a novice can open an account and begin trading in seconds.

KYC Verification

Huobi global faced a backlash when it started due to non-compliance with AML policies. Since the ban on cryptocurrencies by the Chinese government, Huobi opted to extend its exchange to the world crypto market. 

Most local authorities must meet KYC and AML compliance, and so Huobi strictly holds onto the tradition. KYC verification does take long provided you have:

• A government-issued ID, driver’s license, or passport
• A recently taken photograph
• An active report of your financial activities in the past six years
• And legal documents proving your identity or residence

You must meet at least three of the KYC verification process. All documents must be written or documented in English and Chinese languages, respectively. 

You need to complete your KYC to increase your potential withdrawals, participate in some Huobi programs, or trade futures or spots on the platform. 

It may take 1-7 days to complete your KYC verification, although this may vary from country to country. Your information is private, but Huobi reserves the right to consent your account to the authorities if suspected of non-compliant policies.

Deposit and Withdrawal

Unlike some exchanges that do not have multiple payment or withdrawal options, Huobi has all. You can buy and sell cryptocurrencies using credit/debit cards and crypto-to-crypto options. 

Cryptocurrencies can be bought with local currencies and then converted to standard USD. However, conversion rates and fees apply. Otherwise, you can deposit using coin-to-coin from an external wallet.

Withdrawal attracts fees. You can sell your crypto assets on Huobi’s P2P network or withdraw coins directly to your digital wallet. You can withdraw staking rewards in multi-assets. Huobi supports cross-chain tokens, and you can exchange one crypto asset for another.

Unlike most exchanges, Huobi supports fiat deposits which you can use to buy crypto assets. Using bank transfers or debit/credit cards, you can deposit only GBP, EUR, and USD. However, fees apply to every transaction you make.

Platform User Interface and Trading Experience

Trading experience on Huobi Global is excellent. You can create order books, place orders, and trade crypto pairs easily. You can customize your trade settings, including charts, buy and sell orders, time-frame, etc. Also, you can use the Huobi trading bot to ease your trade experience.

You can set up your Huobi trading bot in 2 steps, as seen in the picture:

On Huobi, you can trade futures and with a brokerage on OTC trading in real-time.

The platform’s user interface is excellent. There is a web and desktop version that you can download and personalize to suit your preferences. You can change between dark and light modes.

By scanning the QR code on your mobile and web app, you can interact between both devices simultaneously. Huobi is available in different languages, and its trading environment is comprehensive and easy to navigate.

Mobile Application

Huobi has mobile applications for Android and iOS, which you can download from Playstore and Apple store. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code on the web platform to download the mobile application very fast and easily.

The mobile app is intuitive and has all the features available in the desktop environment. It is compatible with the web and desktop versions. The app has a rating of 4.9 stars on Playstore from over 13,000 votes which shows how active and excellent its features are.

Supported Cryptocurrency

There are over 370 supported high and low-volume cryptocurrencies available on Huobi Global. More are being approved and listed by the Huobi team. 

BTC, ETH, USDT, and HT are the most actively traded cryptocurrencies on Huobi. You can check out the platform to get more information on the cryptocurrencies traded on the platform.

Educational Tools

Huobi has tons of educational tools and resources. Its DeFi Lab also provides tutorials and information to developers to enable them to create intuitive dApps.

Other educational avenues on Huobi include Medium, Youtube, Huobi blog section, Huobi guide section, and Huobi derivative academy that teaches about futures and margin trading.

Customer Support

Customer Support on Huobi is okay, although it can vary for different jurisdictions. Huobi has different ways it reaches out to its customers aside from the customer support section. They include Github and social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram, among others.

Regulation and Security

Huobi is highly regulated and conforms with regulations in many countries it operates in. For instance, in the UK, it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and has a license to operate within the country. It complies strictly with KYC and AML policies in various jurisdictions.

As a popular exchange, security is an utmost priority for Huobi. The platform and its stable coin, HUSD is appropriately audited by Eide Bailly and other undisclosed independent auditing firms and still always checks for vulnerabilities through its team of engineers.

Is Huobi Global Safe?

Yes. Huobi is very safe for buying and selling bitcoin, ETH, as well as many other cryptocurrencies.

FAQs