HTX – Huobi’s rebranded international exchange – has had its best quarter ever, according to CEO Justin Sun.
Although the rebranded exchange got off to a rough start with several hiccups, things have started moving in the right direction, Sun claimed.
Earlier this year, HTX faced an employee revolt. Allegedly, the disgruntlement among staff members stemmed from the fact that Sun originally planned to dissolve the exchange completely, which would have left them all unemployed.
Although Huobi simply rebranded into HTX, the revolt ended with over half of the exchange’s staff being let go. Prior to the event, Huobi employed 2,500 workers – their headcount is now approximately 900.
The exchange also had to deal with a bad actor who made off with millions. However, that situation has since been resolved. The hacker returned all funds, and HTX sent back 5% of the original amount as a white hat bounty.
After releasing its quarterly financials, HTX also allocated 20% of its earnings for burning in an effort to increase trust and ensure future growth. Once all of these events have been taken into account, HTX remains in the green by $104 million, according to Sun.
In spite of the bear market – which seems to be letting up, particularly due to the hype surrounding the possible launch of multiple Bitcoin ETFs – HTX was able to pull in $202 million worth of revenue.
The firm’s expenses, which were no doubt significantly eased by the aforementioned employee cuts, added up to $104 million, which left the exchange with a profit of $98 million.
Justin Sun also stated that his firm maintains a conservative financial model for the fourth quarter. If everything goes according to plan, Sun hopes revenues in the fourth quarter will beat his calculations.
“The entire third quarter was a severe quarter for the industry. […] The overall market recovered in the fourth quarter. We are optimistic about the fourth quarter. The revenue forecast is still relatively conservative, so the financial performance in the fourth quarter is worth looking forward to and may significantly exceed expectations.”
According to the firm’s quarterly report, HTX will be prioritizing future growth over immediate profits, as reflected by the token burn – hence the conservative financial model.