The founder of crypto exchange Huobi Global, Leon Li, is in discussions to sell nearly 60% of his investment in Huobi, which accounts for 5% of all crypto trading volume. Reports on Saturday indicate the deal is priced between $2 and $3 billion.

Existing investors in Huobi, including Sequoia China and ZhenFund, were reportedly notified of Li’s decision during a shareholder meeting in July of this year.

Based on initial reports, Li views the new shareholders as “powerful and resourceful.” Moreover , potential investors must place a high premium on the Huobi brand and devote adequate funding to fostering its expansion.

According to sources with knowledge of the transaction, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Tron founder Justin Sun are in discussions with Huobi regarding the acquisition of the stake.

Image: Good Audience
One Of The Biggest Deals In Crypto

Data compiled by digital currency data aggregator CoinGecko shows that Huobi Global, headquartered in the Seychelles, is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, with a daily trade volume of more than $1 billion.

If the transaction is finalized, it will be one of the largest in the crypto sector. It is anticipated that the acquisition could be consummated by the end of this month.

This could be the first instance of a sale of a controlling stake by one of the largest crypto firms. The slump in the digital currency market has pushed many of the biggest companies to trim expenditures and personnel.

Huobi was among the most prominent cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, but it had to get out of China, which was formerly its largest user base and source of income.

SBF Has The Money To Fund Companies

In 2021, when the Chinese government made crypto-transactions illegal, Li’s company ceased providing services to the communist nation’s users.

Since the beginning of the crypto winter, Bankman-Fried’s company has provided Voyager Digital with a $200 million financing and BlockFi with a $250 million revolving credit.

Recently, the billionaire disclosed that his firm still has “a few billion” in its coffers for funding financially-drained companies.

Bankman-Fried stated in a recent podcast interview that he will spend up to $1 billion of his estimated $12.8 billion fortune on American politics in the 2024 election, entering the list of megadonors like the Koch brothers and George Soros.

Since January, SBF has donated at least $34 million to political candidates and various socio-political causes.

And – did you know that Bankman-Fried’s hair may be purchased as a non-fungible token?

Crypto total market cap at $1.15 trillion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Featured image from Blockworks, Chart from TradingView.com