The largest stakeholder of Huobi Global, Leon Li, has agreed to sell his entire ownership in the crypto exchange to the Hong Kong-based investment firm About Capital, which is purportedly led by Tron creator Justin Sun.
According to China-based journalist Colin Wu, Tron creator Justin Sun is the key investor in About Capital, meaning that he is the true acquirer of the share (estimated at $1 billion).
After the acquisition is completed, the creator of Huobi, Leon Li, will no longer be involved in running the company; instead, Justin Sun will serve as an advisor.
Following the acquisition, Li’s stock would be under the supervision of About Capital’s buyout arm, the firm said in a statement on Saturday. Li won’t be taking part in Huobi’s business anymore. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Justin Sun tweeted on Monday, confirming that he has joined and been appointed as one of the advisors of Huobi Global.
The rumor came after Huobi Global’s transaction announced last Friday that the crypto exchange “has completed the transaction to sell its entire shareholding in Huobi Global to the buyout vehicle managed by a Hong Kong-based About Capital Management (HK) Co., Limited (“About Capital”).
However, Sun said that the claim is “wrong” and he is only an advisor to Huobi, reiterating what he said in a Twitter post earlier today.
Wu also stated suspicions that Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX and a crypto billionaire, “invested to help Justin Sun”. Meanwhile, SBF had denied FTX having any interest in Huobi.
In any case, Huobi claims that the transaction has no effect on its core operations or management team, but that it will now focus on commercial expansion and worldwide brand marketing initiatives. This includes Sun’s current position on its newly formed worldwide strategic advisory board.
Li, the company’s founder and CEO, had been negotiating with investors to sell his majority stake of the exchange for some time. Sun and Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, were allegedly among the prospective investors who spoke with Li about the share sale.
