In a race to entrench their leading positions in the highly lucrative cryptocurrency exchange sector, Huobi Group and Binance have each upgraded their respective offerings on Monday, albeit via different mechanisms, with the former bolstering their talent stocks, and the latter upgrading their back-end technology.

Huobi U.S. Partner Gets CEO

For the rapidly evolving Huobi Group – the Singaporean parent company of one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges in Huobi Pro – Monday saw their exclusive U.S. strategic partner, HBUS Inc., issue a press release revealing that they had appointed a chief executive officer (CEO).

Indeed, the soon-to-be-launched HBUS crypto marketplace is to be led by Frank Fu who, per Monday’s announcement, “will be based in San Francisco, where his blockchain expertise [and] global management background uniquely position him for success.”

This above-mentioned experience derives from Fu’s extensive corporate background (see: LinkedIn profile). The newly-appointed HBUS CEO leaves Meitu, Inc.; a Chinese tech company where Fu “held several executive positions including managing director of Meitu Global and international investment.”

In this particular role, HBUS’ press statement detailed that Fu was responsible for having generated “a combined growth of 500 million new mobile subscribers globally.”

I look forward to assembling a team dedicated to building a world-class virtual currency and digital asset platform that offers the best customer experience, technology innovation, and regulatory compliance.” – Fu

As for how Fu developed his intricate knowledge of blockchain technology, Monday’s announcement implied that it was borne out of the culmination of Fu having “founded several blockchain mobile consumer applications and digital media startups in the US and Asia.”

Binance Bolsters System

Whilst Monday saw Huobi (via their HBUS partner) declare their investment in a talent upgrade, Binance instead took to developing the back-end technology powering their globally renowned crypto exchange.

This – as Binance warned users on the weekend – required the temporary suspension of withdrawals and trading on Tuesday, starting at 2:00 AM (UTC). Although Binance told its community that the upgrade would take “approximately 4 hours” to complete, they subsequently declared that the estimated time frame “will be extended.”

It is uncertain if Binance or its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, will reveal whether or not the system upgrade was done so as to facilitate for an upcoming announcement or strategic collaboration with another crypto-based entity.

Just as likely, however, is that Binance scheduled the upgrade after realizing that the low trading volumes currently being seen in the downtrodden crypto market would make for an apt time to for it to be executed. Of course, performing a system upgrade amid the current market climate will inconvenience far fewer of Binance’s customer base (relative to a bull market, for instance, where daily user activity would be much higher).

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