A week of turmoil in the crypto market was sparked by rumours of arrests, insolvency and fraud involving Huobi Global, a crypto exchange that originated in mainland China and has a large presence in Hong Kong.
The trouble started on Saturday when Wu Shuo, a blockchain news website, reported that some crypto exchange executives were under investigation by mainland authorities.
Techhub News, another Hong Kong-based website, followed up with a report that claimed at least three Huobi executives had been detained by mainland police for questioning, and that other employees were told to leave the country. The report cited unnamed sources.
Huobi rejected the allegations in an email to the South China Morning Post.
A spokeswoman said the company had requested the websites to retract and correct the “misinformation”, and that it would consider legal action if necessary.
