• Crypto exchange Huobi’s founder Leon Li is reportedly in talks with financiers to sell his stake in the firm
• Potential buyers include Justin Sun of Tron and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

Per a recent Bloomberg report, Huobi founder Leon Li is currently in talks with a bunch of investors to sell the majority of his stake in the Huobi crypto exchange at a price of nearly $1 billion. 

Huobi Founder Is Reportedly In Talks To Sell 60% Of His Stake

Per a recently published Bloomberg report, Huobi’s founder is reportedly in talks with financiers to sell 60% of his stake to potential buyers. The report further states that the deal could be finalized sometime later this month. 

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg added that the potential list of buyers involves prominent crypto industry names including Justin Sun, founder of cryptocurrency Tron and Crypto billionaire and CEO of FTX exchange Sam Bankman-Fried. The report also adds that SBF and Sun had earlier established talks with Huobi concerning the acquisition of shares.  

In addition to this, the report mentions ZhenFund and Sequoia China as “existing backers,” who were made aware of Huobi’s decision in the shareholder’s meeting held in July. Per the report, Li is seeking a valuation between $2 billion to $3 billion. 

A Huobi spokesperson has shed more details on the matter, reporting that Li is currently in process of conducting a discussion with several international institutions concerning the stake sale, but has refused to offer specific details concerning the transaction. 

“He hopes that the new shareholders will be more powerful and resourceful and that they will value the Huobi brand and invest more capital and energy to drive the growth of Huobi,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg

Launched in 2013 in China, Huobi is one of the leading crypto exchanges that has consistently been expanding its work portfolio. The exchange has recently acquired a license to operate and offer services in Australia and had earlier acquired the necessary permissions to operate in New Zealand. 

TL;DR

• According to a U.S judge, the stock trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc should face market manipulation claims.
• This lawsuit was one of many brought against the platform after it temporarily barred customers from purchasing stocks back in Jan 2021, such as GameStop and AMC.
• Robinhood prices surged in May after the CEO of FTX SBF announced that he had purchased stake in the company.

Robinhood Judge Rules That Robinhood Should Face Market Manipulation Claims

According to Reuters, a U.S Judge ruled on Thursday that stock trading platform Robinhood Markets Inc should face market manipulation claims.

Judge Cecilia Altonaga said in the ruling that investors in GameStop Corp (GME), AMC Entertainment Holdings INC (AMC), and seven other stocks could proceed with the proposed class action lawsuit.

This lawsuit comes after retail trading company Robinhood temporarily barred customers from buying certain stocks in January 2021. 

The “meme stock rally” was mainly social media-fueled, and the shares of the companies mentioned were involved in a short squeeze that led Robinhood and other trading platforms to restrict retail trading. 

Attorneys for Robinhood did not reply to a request for comment. 

Robinhood Stocks Soared after SBF Confirmed he had Stake in company

Robinhood stock prices surged earlier in May of this year after the CEO of crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried announced he had purchased a 7.6% stake in the company.

According to the filing, SBF paid a total of $648 million to acquire a 7.6% stake in Robinhood.

• The Ethereum core developer team has discussed the tentative dates for the Merge to take place.
• The dates are not definitive; however, the devs have agreed that the Bellatrix update would land on September 6, and the Paris update would target September 15.
• The Merge is planned to take place before the end of September.
• It aims to resolve the core problems Ethereum faces today, such as security, scalability, and environmental stability.

The Ethereum Core developer team suggested possible dates for the Merge on their latest Consensus Layer Call earlier today. 

The Merge, which successfully completed the final testnet phase on August 11 of this month, is one of the most anticipated events in Ethereum’s history. 

Read more: Ethereum Price Headed to $2,000 as Ethereum Goerli Merge Goes Live

The initial dates were set on September 17; however, during the call, the core developers agreed on roughly two dates for the main upgrades. The consensus so far is that the 144896 epoch for the Bellatrix upgrade would land on September 6, and the Paris upgrade would be completed by September 15.

As discussed on the call, the developers mentioned that the dates are not definitive and can be changed within the coming weeks. 

The Merge should occur after the Bellatrix mainnet upgrade before the end of September. Ethereum’s Eth token has already rallied 17.5% in anticipation of the Merge. The upgrade will go as scheduled unless the Ethereum hash rate falls significantly, which would cause lower block times and delay the Merge’s expected time. 

The Merge aims to resolve security, scalability, and environmental sustainability. All of these issues have been concerns that have halted Ethereum adoption and the adoption of other cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum network.