Huobi acquires Bitex for Latin America expansion

The world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume Thursday said it acquired Latin American crypto exchange Bitex to expand its footprint in the region.

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Fast facts

• Though terms of the deal were not disclosed, Huobi said it plans to integrate Bitex’s operations with its platform even as the Latin American crypto exchange will retain its branding and continue to be run independently.

• The integration will enable Latin Americans to access a wide range of digital assets available on Huobi, a press release said.

• Huobi Group entered Latin America with the launch of Huobi Argentina in 2019. It launched fiat-to-crypto pairing between the Argentine Peso and both Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) in 2020.

• Established in 2014, Bitex has a presence across Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

• With a population of nearly 665 million, Latin America accounts for 8% to 10% of global cryptocurrency activity, according to Chainalysis.

• Through this acquisition, Huobi Global hopes to meet a growing appetite for alternative financial services through blockchain technology as only about half of Latin America’s population own bank accounts, Caleb Lim, senior investment manager at Huobi Group, said in a press release.

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