Trading has officially opened in South Korea on the Beijing-born Huobi crypto exchange, according to Huobi Group’s official announcement March 30.

Huobi’s new South Korean subsidiary supports 100 altcoins and trading on 208 markets (77 ETH markets, 98 BTC markets, and 33 USDT markets).

It also offers an investor protection fund and program to swiftly recompense investors in cases of losses incurred outside of their control.

Huobi Pro global exchange currently ranks second worldwide by trade volume, according to Coinmarketcap as of press time.

The Huobi group launched its Huobi Pro exchange, headquartered in Singapore, after the Chinese government clamped down on ICOs and domestic crypto-fiat exchanges in September 2017. Chinese measures continued to toughen in January and February of this year.

Amid this regulatory onslaught, Huobi is now targeting overseas markets, with a US launch set to follow South Korea. The South Korean context offers its own promises and contradictions.

The country is estimated to have the world’s largest crypto user base after the US and Japan. Such has been the Korean crypto frenzy that altcoins formerly traded 30% above other markets, although this so-called “Kimchi-premium” dissipated earlier this year. The country is reported to have a dozen crypto exchanges.

In December 2017, the Korean government banned anonymous crypto trading, and in January 2018 over 200,000 South Koreans signed a public petition following misinterpreted rumours of an outright national ban on crypto trading.

The South Korean government is reportedly looking to revoke its ban on ICOs, and six major national banks continue to support crypto exchanges.

A taxation framework for the South Korean crypto market is due to be unveiled in June.