From Decrypt · By Decrypt Agent
In brief
The FCA has settled its High Court case against HTX, securing undertakings that the exchange will not target or solicit UK consumers.
HTX has stopped taking deposits and new sign-ups from the UK, and existing UK users have 48 hours to withdraw their assets, the exchange said.
The case was the FCA's first against a crypto firm under UK financial promotion rules, and the terms of the settlement are confidential.
Crypto exchange HTX is leaving the UK after settling a lawsuit brought by the Financial Conduct Authority over illegal crypto promotions, the regulator said on Thursday.
The FCA said it had secured undertakings in the High Court that HTX, formerly known as Huobi, will not knowingly promote crypto services unlawfully to UK consumers. Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-registered company named as the first defendant, has undertaken not to communicate financial promotions in breach of UK law across HTX's website, apps and social media, according to the court order.
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HTX, which names Tron founder Justin Sun as a global adviser, is no longer active in the UK, the regulator said. UK consumers can no longer make deposits, and new UK users cannot sign up.
"Crypto firms should be under no illusion: being based overseas does not put them beyond the reach of UK law," said Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight. "The message to other firms is clear: follow the rules or face the consequences."
HTX said it had "proactively implemented measures to align with the UK's financial promotion regulations," the Financial Times reported. On its website, the exchange said existing UK customers are blocked from trading and have 48 hours to withdraw their assets before their accounts are closed.
The terms of the settlement are confidential, and it does not amount to an admission of liability or wrongdoing, the FCA said.
The regulator began proceedings against HTX in October 2025, its first enforcement case against a crypto firm under the UK's financial promotion rules, saying the exchange had repeatedly failed to engage with it. The two sides began settlement talks in March, which were extended in June, according to court orders reported by Reuters.
In May, the UK sanctioned Huobi Global S.A. over alleged support for Russia's financial sector, with the government's notice listing HTX as another name for the designated entity.
Two months later, the European Union named Huobi Global in its 21st package of Russia sanctions, accusing it of "significantly frustrating" the bloc's measures and barring EU transactions with the exchange, though stopping short of a full asset freeze. HTX has said Huobi Global S.A. is "distinct from the online HTX exchange."