Crypto Exchange HTX Leaves UK and Settles Regulator’s Lawsuit Over Illegal Ads

HTX, the crypto exchange formerly known as Huobi, has settled a lawsuit brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and left the UK market. The regulator said today (Thursday) that HTX gave court undertakings not to knowingly promote its services to UK consumers.

The case was the first the FCA brought against a crypto firm for marketing to UK consumers since crypto came under the financial promotion rules in October 2023.

Most of the regulator's work against illegal ads stays out of court. It flagged nearly 20,000 financial promotions in 2024, almost double the year before.

London's trading industry is coming home!

HTX is no longer active in the UK, the FCA said. British users can no longer deposit funds, new UK customers cannot sign up, and the exchange has committed not to target, solicit or actively seek UK consumers on its website, apps or social media.

A Year in the High Court

The FCA sued HTX in the High Court in London in October 2025, naming Panama-incorporated Huobi Global S.A. and several groups of unidentified people who run the exchange and its accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, YouTube, Discord, Medium and LinkedIn.

When it made the case public in February, the regulator asked social media companies to block HTX's accounts for UK users and asked Apple and Google to pull its apps from their UK stores. The FCA said HTX repeatedly failed to engage before moving to leave the UK.

Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said crypto firms should be "under no illusion" that "being based overseas does not put them beyond the reach of UK law."

The settlement sits in a Tomlin order dated Tuesday. Its terms are confidential and are not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Huobi Global or anyone else, the FCA said. It pointed remaining UK users to HTX's website for instructions on withdrawing their assets.

The regulator's more routine tool is its warning list, which names firms it suspects of operating without permission. FM Intelligence's fines and warnings tracker logged 240 warnings in the UK in the 30 days to October 28.

Sanctions Added to the Pressure

The court case was not the only pressure on HTX this year. In May, the UK sanctioned the exchange along with 17 other crypto businesses it described as part of networks supporting Russia's economy, and the European Union added HTX to its Russia sanctions list in July.

Binance stopped processing transactions with HTX and 10 other platforms from August 23, citing regulatory developments. HTX has disputed that the UK designation covers its exchange.

Justin Sun took a controlling stake in the exchange in 2022, and HTX describes him as an adviser. It dropped the Huobi name in 2023, the same year it saw $258 million flow out after a cyberattack.

FinanceMagnates.com has sent questions to HTX about the settlement and its remaining UK users and will update this article if HTX responds.

What a Return Would Take

Serving UK users legally again would mean passing an FCA review that most crypto applicants have not cleared. The regulator opened its authorization window for crypto firms on September 30.

Applications filed by February 28, 2027 will be assessed before the new regime starts on October 25, 2027, and existing registrations will not convert into authorizations automatically.

Under the current anti-money laundering registration regime, 68 of 391 completed crypto applications between January 2020 and August 1, 2026 ended in registration, FM Intelligence data show. Another 263 were withdrawn.

That puts the registration rate at 17% for the full period, rising to 56% in the latest 12 months on 23 decisions.