Who really owns crypto exchange Huobi?

In early October 2022, right before the collapse of FTX, a mostly unheard-of Hong Kong-based investment firm, About Capital Management (ACM), announced that it had acquired China-based crypto exchange Huobi.

It soon became clear that the mysterious party responsible for acquiring the exchange was, in fact, none other than TRON and Poloniex founder Justin Sun. In hindsight, the clues were there, from his persistent tweeting about the company to his appointment to the Huobi Global Advisory Board.

However, Justin continues to deny any controlling ownership, instead stating that he’s an investor who merely helps to run things. So, the question remains: Exactly who owns Huobi and what’s the plan for the exchange?

Read more: Huobi monetizes FTX collapse with opaque debt token

Corporate documents answer nothing

Protos acquired Hong Kong corporate documents for numerous Huobi and Justin Sun-related entities, along with information about ACM. None of the documents point to who or what entity currently holds a controlling interest in the company.

In May, Protos reached out to ACM to ask about the acquisition and was told in no uncertain terms that the firm was “no longer involved with Huobi in any way.” The company refused to elaborate further.

HBIT (the company that represents Huobi under its FINCEN registration) saw a new director appointed in February. The individual in question goes by the name Wang Shuchi and their only digital footprint appears to be as the director of numerous shell companies and owner of Huobi Digital Limited.

Additionally, a gentleman by the name of Li Qi was appointed as a director of “New Huo Technology Holdings Limited” in March of this year.

This could very well be around the time that ACM wiped its hands of Huobi and Justin Sun.