Huobi Review: Serious Broker or Scam?
Quality
speed
cost
The big Huobi test: What does the crypto exchange offer, how high are the fees and is the service secure? You can find the answers in this Huobi review.
The Huobi Exchange has its headquarters in Singapore. The associated Huobi Holding was founded in Beijing in 2013. It is therefore an Asian crypto exchange. The review covers our Huobi experience and other important information.
This includes information about the Huobi fees, whether it is actually a reputable and secure provider, which Huobi alternative is recommended and all other important questions.
However, before we start with our detailed Huobi review, we would like to note that although Huobi is convincing in a few aspects, our current test winner in the crypto exchange comparison is eToro.
Key data for Huobi
|
Key data |
Huobi |
|---|---|
|
Seat |
Singapore |
|
product |
Crypto exchange of the chines. Huobi Global company |
|
Trade offer |
Lots of coins + ERC-20 compatible tokens |
|
Payment methods |
Only cryptos |
|
languages |
8 |
|
Margin trading |
supports |
What is Huobi - The history of the crypto exchange
Huobi is an Asian cryptocurrency exchange and is considered one of the largest digital exchanges operating in Asia. This exchange has existed in its current form since 2013.
Initially, the exchange was operated out of Beijing, China, although it is a Singaporean company. Moreover, the company initially focused only on the Chinese market, but later the platform made some adjustments and started offering services as Huobi Global almost worldwide. Among other well-known cryptocurrencies, the exchange also offers its home currency Huobi Token on the platform.
The exchange has been in the cryptocurrency business for a long time and is named in one of the first crypto exchanges in the world. Huobi secured investments from well-known names in the venture capital industry such as Sequoia. The organisation employed more than 1,300 talented people globally to conduct its operations in over 130 countries.
Huobi's executives are skilled and experienced computer engineers with strong backgrounds working in Fortune 500 companies such as Oracle. Huobi was founded with the vision of replacing fiat currency with a secure digital currency. Initially, the company focused only on China and later expanded its operations in various countries around the world. The website has managed to secure the third place among other cryptocurrency platforms in terms of daily trading volume in the market.
Huobi experience: Advantages and disadvantages
Pros
Cons
Signing up for the Huobi Exchange
Our Huobi test showed that it is very easy to register with Huobi. The registration process should normally be completed within a few minutes.
In the meantime, it is even possible to buy Bitcoin directly by credit card at the Huobi Exchange. Therefore, the exchange is theoretically also suitable for absolute crypto beginners.
Also, the entire registration process is done in English (or Mandarin), as the platform is unfortunately not available. We would therefore like to help you better understand the Huobi registration process in the following section.
In the following, we explain the Huobi registration process step by step.
Step 1: Register your account
The first step of registration is similar to other crypto exchanges.
You have the option to register via your email or via your phone number. To do this, you must enter your nationality and either a valid telephone number or e-mail address.
Then you have to choose a password. Optionally, you can indicate who recommended you (Invitation Code).
There is also the option (hidden in the small print at the bottom) to open an institutional account. In the following Huobi review, however, we will concentrate on a personal account.
Then click on the "Sign Up" button.
Step 2: Verification
Within a few seconds you should now receive a confirmation email with a "Verification Code". Simply enter the code from the email on the Huobi registration page to confirm your email address.
Huobi ID Verification You can now already log in to the Huobi website. However, if you want to have full access to all Exchange features, you still need to verify your ID.
To do this, simply click on the small account icon at the top right and on "Verification".
Verification helps to prevent money laundering.
It should be noted that Huobi customers generally enjoy great anonymity. This is because the exchange is not officially regulated. However, it should be noted that completely anonymous trading is not possible, as the broker has to comply with the applicable money laundering laws and basic personal data of the users is entered as part of the registration process.
For identification purposes, you have to enter your ID number, your first name and surname and upload a photo of your ID.
The verification of the data by the should normally take no more than 24 to 48 hours.
Step 3: Deposit
Huobi Deposit - DepositOnce the verification process is complete, you can start depositing money into your account.
Clicking on "Deposit Funds" gives you three options at Huobi.
You can deposit cryptocurrencies directly. (This is either Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency supported by Huobi).
You can deposit US dollars directly.
You can buy cryptocurrency directly by credit card. (This will save you one step).
After depositing your cryptocurrencies or normal money, you can start trading.
Registering, buying and also trading cryptocurrency is very easy at Huobi and should be done in a few minutes. Only our test winner eToro makes it even easier.
Huobi fees: What does trading cost?
As with all crypto exchanges, Huobi is funded by charging fees, particularly transaction fees, which are incurred with each purchase or sale of cryptocurrencies.
Huobi transaction fees
The Huobi broker's pricing model is designed to be very simple and clear, as our Huobi review shows.
Moreover, Huobi is very competitive when it comes to trading fees, and this is largely due to its smart decision to switch to a native token-based economy similar to KuCoin, Binance and Bibox.
Huobi Token, or HT, gives users the right to halve trading fees, make governance decisions related to the platform and participate in ICOs.
Reducing fees on the platform with HT is simple. Simply hold HT in your wallet and select the option to use HT for trading fees in your user configuration window. Now you get a big discount on the standard fee of:
|
Level |
HT in the wallet |
Maker Fee |
Taker fairy |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Huobi Review - The Offer
Huobi Offer OverviewWhen choosing a crypto exchange like Huobi, investors should pay particular attention to the range of cryptocurrencies on offer as well as the level of fees and costs and the user-friendliness of the platform. These are therefore also the most important evaluation criteria in our Huobi test.
The Huobi offer is particularly characterised by the large selection of trading pairs, the customer service and many additional functionalities.
Huobi User Protection Fund
Similar to Binance's SAFU, Huobi ensures that user profits go into the User Protection Fund as an insurance policy against hacks, thefts and other unforeseen events.
As a client, this is a big plus as it leads to greater protection of your deposits in case of unforeseen problems.
Institutional trading accounts
As one of the largest exchanges in the world, Huobi has attracted the attention of institutional traders and accounts around the world year after year. For this reason, Huobi has set up a separate trading desk for institutional and corporate users, covering both OTC and dark pool trading.
Derivatives trading
Following pressure from other major exchanges, Huobi has also introduced its own derivatives products for futures and swap trading. This allows various products to be traded with leverage of up to 5x.
Huobi Wealth Management and Margin Trading
In addition to derivatives trading, Huobi has become one of the leading providers of margin and C2C loans.
Huobi HUSD
The Huobi Exchange offers trading in the HUSD stablecoin. HUSD is a stablecoin that is pegged to the US dollar on a 1:1 basis. As an ERC-20 coin, HUSD can also be traded with many other cryptocurrencies on the Huobi Global exchange.
Wide range of trading pairs
With Huobi, you almost never have to see the same digital asset twice if you don't want to. This is because the exchange has an impressive selection of trading pairs. In fact, even we are unfamiliar with half of the cryptocurrencies offered on Huobi.
This is because Huobi's selection places great emphasis on projects from Asia. As a result, you will find a particularly large number of emerging coins (ICOs) from Korea, Singapore and China on the Huobi Exchange. You will therefore not find many of these on Western exchanges.
The Huobi cryptocurrencies
When looking for an exchange for cryptocurrencies, the offer naturally plays a very large role. As already mentioned, the selection of cryptocurrencies at Huobi is excellent.
One special feature is certainly the Huobi Token, but regardless of whether you want to trade IOTA, Bitcoin or an as yet unknown coin with Huobi, the choice is almost endless.
A small excerpt of the 10 largest coins currently traded on Huobi.
The Huobi HB10 Index
|
|
|---|
Huobi additional fees
Huobi does not charge any other fees for account creation, account maintenance or inactivity.
Payment methods at Huobi
Huobi payment methods - FiatHuobi unfortunately only supports a limited number of deposit methods. Mainly, the provider supports the deposit via cryptocurrencies.
Otherwise, depositing and buying cryptocurrency via credit card is possible.
As a safety tip, we advise you to only deposit as much money as you actively need for trading. It is best to store coins that you do not want to trade actively in a private wallet and not leave them in the Huobi account.
This is the best way to protect yourself from outside access, even though the majority of Huobi crypto assets are in cold wallets that are not connected to the internet.
Here is an overview of the payment methods at Huobi:
|
Payment method |
yes/no |
|---|---|
|
Credit card (after additional verification) |
Yes |
|
Paypal |
no |
|
Instant bank transfer |
no |
|
Skrill |
no |
|
Neteller |
no |
|
Paysafecard |
no |
|
Bank Transfer |
no |
|
Cryptocurrencies |
Yes |
By the way: Our test winner eToro offers a pleasant Huobi alternative to direct crypto trading and allows you to top up your CFD trading account with various user-friendly payment service providers, including PayPal and eWallets such as Skrill and Neteller.
Is there a Huobi Wallet?
After you have bought a cryptocurrency, you need to be able to access it. The codes to access cryptocurrencies are stored in wallets.
Wallets can be online, where they are called hot storage. Or offline, where they are called cold storage.
Note: A wallet has public and private keys. You can give your public key to anyone and they can send you cryptocurrency. Your private keys should not be shown to anyone! Think of it as an email account. The public key is your address and the private key is your password.
But is Huobi now its own wallet? The answer is sort of, but not really.
As you already learned in our Huobi review, Huobi is a crypto exchange that can (but shouldn't!) be used as a wallet. Huobi uses storage for both hot and cold wallets.
You should never hold all your cryptocurrency online. A combination of hot and cold storage is best. It is also better to keep hot and cold storage outside of Huobi, so you minimise the risk of damage from a hacker attack.
Is there a Huobi App
The trend towards mobile crypto trading is on the rise. More and more traders prefer the mobile offers of brokers to the desktop version. The Huobi broker has also taken note of this development.
As a trader, you have the option of using the Huobi functions on the move.
Since Huobi offers a full-fledged app for Android and iOS. The Huobi review shows that the Huobi app proves to be very handy and allows for a great and complete Huobi experience, as the app keeps you flexible and not tied to your desktop at home, but allows you to trade crypto on the go. Downloading and using the Huobi app is completely free.
The mobile offering is easy to use and offers a pleasant Huobi alternative to the desktop version. The core functions are covered and the app also offers the option to trade cryptos on the go.
While the Huobi app is well-designed and offers important core functions, it is not completely convincing in comparison with other providers. There are crypto brokers that offer an even better mobile trading experience. Huobi is therefore not the best provider here . If you want to trade cryptocurrencies profitably, you should take a closer look at our multiple test winner eToro.
The eToro app offers easy access to buying and selling 16 cryptocurrencies, with new coins being added all the time. Either real cryptocurrencies can be bought and securely deposited in the eToro Wallet (mobile wallet), or users can use the crypto CFDs preferred for crypto trading.
With crypto CFDs, money can be made from the performance of cryptocurrencies, regardless of whether these prices rise or fall, simply by taking the appropriate buy or sell position. In addition, crypto CFDs can be traded with leverage, which, however, also entails a higher risk.
Is Huobi a scam?
This question can be answered very quickly and easily. No, Huobi is in no way a scam.
Huobi is a trustworthy site that has been active on the cryptocurrency market for several years.
You can therefore buy or sell coins via Huobi without having to worry about being ripped off by the provider.
We can say with certainty: Huobi is not a scam.
Huobi Rating: Licence and Security
|
If you want to invest in cryptocurrencies and are looking for the right provider, you should only turn to the most experienced brokers on the market who operate with a valid licence. |
However, no exchange can promise 100 per cent security. There is always a certain residual risk when storing cryptocurrency. |
|---|
Huobi Test: Customer Service & Support
All beginnings are difficult, - even with the user-friendly Huobi Exchange, questions can arise from time to time. Whether on topics such as payment conditions, trading platform, fees and much more.
A quality broker is characterised by a competent customer service, which can be reached quickly in the event of questions and problems and provides help and advice.
Huobi offers support in English and Mandarin. Customer service representatives can be reached by phone at one of the various country offices as well as by email ticket and online chat. The exchange also maintains several social networks and messaging app communities through which queries can also be made.
Typical response time to email tickets is said to be between 2 and 3 hours, and the company's customer service representatives are said to be courteous and helpful.
|
Contact way |
|
|---|---|
|
phone |
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
Live chat |
Yes |
|
contact form |
Yes |
|
FAQs |
Yes |
Huobi Community In fact, Huobi's support is one of the biggest pluses in our test. It's crazy how quickly Huobi responds to customer claims. When we contacted Huobi with account issues, we received a response within an hour. This fast response time beats almost any other exchange.
Huobi also offers an extensive help section, which reliably answers all general questions. So if you need quick answers, you should first take a look at the FAQ section, which in many cases offers an alternative to e-mail contact. Unfortunately, the FAQ section is not available either.
Customer reviews of Huobi on the internet
Huobi experiences are not too good so far.
Huobi's rating on Trustpilot is insufficient with currently 35 reviews with 2.4 out of 5 stars. 20% have given the platform the highest rating and 49% think the platform is poor.
Here are a couple of reviews:
Florin John wrote on 02/13/2021:
"I think this is a big scam and glad I didn't deposit too much. Also the customer support is awful."
The user who left a review on 07/02/2021 also doesn't leave a good mark on Huobi:
AVOID!!! Huobi Global will not let you transfer/withdraw any deposits you make. They will keep making ridiculous demands for more information to withdraw and lock up your funds forever. Don't waste your time or money!
"Stay away! Huobi Global will not pay you any money you have deposited. They will come with ridiculous demands for more info to make the payout and will block your funds forever. Don't waste your time or money!"
Strategy Mindset, on the other hand, who wrote a review on 2020/12/14, raves about Huobi:
Extremely great Crypto platform. I believe they are the biggest trading platform so far for crypto with or without margin trading. I use them more on OTC trading and they have the narrowest spreads and volume there. You can almost instantaneously find a buyer or seller there.
"Excellent crypto platform. I think Huobi is the biggest trading platform for cryptos with or without margin trading so far. I use it more for OTC trading and they have the lowest spreads and volumes there. You can find a buyer or seller there almost instantly."
Also Kenny, who wrote a review on 10/10/2020, is enthusiastic about Huobi:
"A very good OTC platform."
And Jade Smith even wrote on 2020/09/18:
"Finally an application process that is intelligent, fair and reasonable for anyone to handle. First impressions are indeed very good.
Have not made any deposits/exchanges yet and will update when I do as I have of course seen the many complaints about issues here. Sadly, only one way to find out. Never risk more than you can lose."
"Finally a decent registration process that is fair and reasonable for everyone. First impression is very good indeed.
Haven't made any deposits / transactions yet and will update this review once I have made deposits and transactions as I have read the many complaints about problems here of course. Unfortunately there is only one way to find out. Never risk more than you can lose."
Opinions on Huobi are thus mixed. At this point, we can once again recommend our test winner eToro.
Huobi Test - our conclusion
Huobi is an established provider on the crypto market and allows trading with hundreds of different cryptocurrencies.
The Huobi review shows that the broker takes the security of its customers very seriously. 2-factor authentication, storage of assets in cold storage and SSL encryption guarantee that users' sensitive data is protected from third-party access. So you don't have to fear Huobi fraud at all.
In our Huobi test, the provider scored particularly well with a large selection of cryptocurrencies, which is also available via a mobile Huobi app, so that every investor can find the right offer.
Huobi is an innovative platform and offers not only well-known cryptocurrencies but also unknown coins. Huobi stands out especially due to the large number of unknown Asian coins.
We have to make concessions in the Huobi rating due to the limited deposit options. Deposits are only possible via cryptocurrency or credit card. Bank transfer, Neteller and PayPal are not offered.
For traders with little experience, it is recommended to fall back on a Huobi alternative.
We can recommend our test winner eToro at this point, as this crypto provider offers its users a demo account to gain experience. It also offers the possibility to make deposits with fiat currencies. Among other things, PayPal is available as a payment method, which makes using the platform particularly attractive.
Recommended alternative to Huobi: eToro
Stock exchange and wallet in one
Regulated provider
Deposit with PayPal, credit card, SOFORT transfer and more
Over 14 other cryptos tradable
Equities and ETFs also available
FAQ
Huobi is a Singapore-based crypto exchange that is particularly well-known and popular in the Asian region. The exchange was one of the first major crypto exchanges and offers trading in over 250 leading cryptocurrencies.
There is a minimum deposit of $50 US dollars at Huobi. This means that trading can also be started with very small sums. How much money you invest ultimately depends on your own financial situation and risk tolerance.
Huobi is a secure crypto exchange that has been operating successfully on the crypto market for several years. Huobi is headquartered in Singapore and is partially regulated there.
After signing up for Huobi, you have to confirm your email address and then verify your account. For this purpose, a proof of identity is carried out. A scan of the passport or identity card must be submitted for this purpose.
No. You can only buy Bitcoin directly with US dollars. However, it is possible to deposit fiat currency such as euros.
The Huobi payout usually takes between 1 and 3 business days. However, you cannot withdraw fiat currency, only cryptocurrency.
A Huobi account is quickly opened and trading cryptocurrency can be worthwhile. However, we recommend that our readers open an account with eToro instead.