Global Digital Finance (GDF) – the industry membership body promoting the adoption of best practices and conduct standards for crypto and digital assets – has today announced Huobi as a patron member.

Huobi will join GDF’s Patron Board and the Advisory Council alongside global crypto-assets leaders Circle, Coinbase, ConsenSys, DLA Piper, Diginex, Hogan Lovells, and R3 as well as founding members 11:FS, Archax, Bandman Advisors, Cambrial, CryptoCompare, Elipses, Messari, Metaco, Radix, Solidus Labs, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and Templum Inc.

The board supports the GDF organisation in the development of its global strategy and by growing the community membership of firms who wish to adhere to GDF’s code of conduct.

As a patron member, Huobi now co-chairs the GDF Market Integrity Working Group alongside Solidus Labs. As part of its duties, the working group is developing principles and best practices in the prevention of market manipulation.

Welcoming Huobi to the board, Teana Baker-Taylor – executive director of GDF – said the move was a step forward for the membership body.

“Integrity and credibility of crypto markets are currently major hurdles for mainstream and institutional adoption of digital assets, as well as a key concern for regulators,” she said.

“The goal of GDF’s Market Integrity Working Group is to devise a set of pragmatic, implementable guidelines that, if adopted by digital asset service providers, will promote a fair, ethical, and transparent industry.”

Market integrity

Huobi’s new delegate on the GDF Patron Board – CFO Chris Lee – said he was looking forward to contributing to the pursuit of market integrity.

“As a patron member of Global Digital Finance, Huobi is honoured and delighted to work with top institutions all over the world,” he said.

“Through our efforts, we have infinite faith in promoting the development of this industry while addressing major issues surrounding market integrity, compliance, practice standards, and business models.

“Huobi believes blockchain technology could benefit all mankind, and we will continue to devote ourselves to this case.”

Huobi has also registered its self-attestation for its licensed service provider to the GDF Registry, committing to adopt the GDF code of conduct, including Part I: Introduction and Overarching Principles and Part III: Principles for Token Trading Platforms.

This, according to Huobi’s chief compliance officer – Elaine Sun – is a huge step towards raising the standards of responsible conduct.

Global effort

“We are delighted to join Global Digital Finance and this community-led global effort to set standards to promote client privacy and security, promote balanced regulatory policies and compliance, and promote responsible conduct in regards to lending, leveraging, and making promises to investors,” she said.

Her views were echoed by GDF’s board co-chair, Lawrence Wintermeyer, who said: “Over the past 18 months, GDF has gained credibility with regulators and policy makers through the quality work of the codes of conduct, working papers, and responses to policy maker consultations, all of which are all developed through GDF’s open global community collaboration with crypto and digital assets firms and traditional finance professionals.”