World’s third largest cryptocurrency exchange Huobi creates Communist Party committee
- Huobi subsidiary sets up a party branch in a move its founder hailed as a ‘milestone’ for the five-year-old company
- Company survived China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency trading by moving its exchange business to Singapore
Huobi Group, operator of one of the world’s largest digital asset exchanges, has set up a Communist Party committee, in a first for any cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused company in China.
A Huobi subsidiary called Beijing Lianhuo Information Service established its party branch on Friday, according to a statement from Huobi posted on the microblogging site Weibo. Founded in 2013, Huobi is the world’s third largest cryptocurrency exchange with a daily trading volume of US$560 million, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Beijing Lianhuo was established in April with a registered capital of 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million), according to public company register records. Huobi founder and chief executive Li Lin has a 99 per cent stake in the company.
The Communist Party’s charter stipulates that any enterprise in China having at least three party members as employees shall establish its own party branch responsible for promoting the official party line. While such an organ has long played a central role in state-owned companies, private firms in China only began setting up party committees in recent years as they seek closer ties with the government.
In the technology industry, big names with party committees include gaming giant Tencent Holdings, search engine operator Baidu, smartphone supplier Xiaomi and e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post. Newer tech start-ups like live-streaming platform operator Douyu and bike-sharing service provider Ofo are among the latest to join the foray.