Insiders: The true acquirer of Huobi is still Sun Yuchen
Sun Yuchen responded that he "did not participate." However, shortly after, his official social media announced that he became a global advisor for Huobi, which is self-evident.Author: Wu Says Blockchain
In the early morning of October 8, Huobi announced that its controlling shareholder company had transferred all of its shares in Huobi Global to a fund under Baiyu Capital, making Baiyu Capital's merger fund the largest shareholder and actual controller of Huobi Global.
However, multiple informed sources told Wu Says that Sun Yuchen is actually the core investor of this merger fund. Sun Yuchen himself was present at the delivery site in Singapore on October 8, and currently, Sun Yuchen's side is actively recruiting, while some departments of Huobi are also in the process of takeover (former C-level executives have gradually had their permissions revoked and have submitted resignations). The acquisition price is over 1 billion USD.
Sun Yuchen responded to Wu Says by stating "I did not participate." But shortly after, Sun Yuchen's official social media announced his role as a global advisor for Huobi, with advisors including Baiyu Capital founder Chen Yihua, Du Jun, Sun Yuchen, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Vice President Wang Yang, and Valkyrie Leah Wald. The implications are self-evident.
Currently, Huobi Japan, Huobi Korea, and others are coordinating the separation and sale. Li Lin will still be responsible for completing the asset clearance for domestic users. Chen Yihua, a frontman for Baiyu Capital, was previously a partner at Jinglin Asset, which was touted as China's top private equity firm, leading to the misconception that Jinglin was the financial backer behind Huobi's acquisition. However, Wu Says learned that Jinglin did not participate in this acquisition; Baiyu is more of a "bridge" for Sun Yuchen's acquisition.
The reason for this, according to informed sources, is that Li Lin is more concerned about safety factors (Sun Yuchen is not seen as a "good buyer" in the eyes of the Chinese government, while Baiyu seems to be related to Boyu), and Sun Yuchen fears triggering dissatisfaction from Binance, which has always supported him, especially given the close ties with FTX, Binance's biggest competitor, in this transaction.
On August 12, Bloomberg reported that Li Lin of Huobi was seeking to sell the majority of his stake in the exchange at a valuation of 3 billion USD. FTX and Sun Yuchen had preliminary contacts with him. Shareholders such as ZhenFund and Sequoia China learned of Li Lin's decision at the July shareholders' meeting. Sun Yuchen tweeted to clarify: "We are currently not involved in any matters related to the Bloomberg report." SBF stated that there were no plans to acquire Huobi. However, market rumors suggest that FTX may provide funding to assist Sun Yuchen, which could potentially push Binance, a long-time supporter of Sun Yuchen, into a competitive position.
Sun Yuchen graduated from Peking University, was selected as a first-term student at Jack Ma's Hupan University in 2015, founded TRON in 2017, acquired the Poloniex exchange in 2019, bought a lunch with Warren Buffett the same year, and became Grenada's representative to the World Trade Organization in 2021. However, Sun Yuchen has faced ongoing controversy due to his aggressive marketing tactics and regulatory issues with the U.S. and China.
Recently at TOKEN2049, Sun Yuchen was seen at a Huobi event party with former employees. In the first half of the year, Sun Yuchen and FTX's CFO frequently communicated about acquisition matters in Singapore.
