Binance to Halt Transactions with 16 Crypto Platforms Including HTX and EXMO
Key Takeaways
- •Binance will stop processing direct and indirect transactions with 16 cryptocurrency platforms, including HTX and EXMO, applying the restrictions to all users worldwide rather than to a specific region.
- •The cutoffs are staggered across August, with Shelbit and Aban Tether Exchange cut off on August 7, three A7-linked platforms on August 13, and the largest group including HTX and EXMO on August 23.
- •Fourteen of the listed platforms match entities named in the EU's 21st sanctions package against Russia, while Shelbit and Aban Tether Exchange were designated by the US Treasury's OFAC in an action targeting networks allegedly serving the Iranian regime.
- •HTX has disputed the restrictions, saying the sanctioned Panamanian-registered entity is separate from its trading operations and that compliance remains a priority.
- •Binance says its sanctions exposure fell 96.8% between January 2024 and July 2025 and that its compliance team of nearly 1,500 staff represents about a quarter of its global headcount, following its $4.3 billion settlement with US authorities in November 2023.
Binance announced to all of its users on Friday that it will stop processing transactions with 16 cryptocurrency platforms, including the major exchange HTX and EXMO. The cutoff will be carried out gradually through the end of August and follows recent sanctions against Russian and Iranian networks.
The world's largest crypto exchange published the announcement today, addressing it to its entire user base rather than to accounts in any particular country or geographical region. Binance said it will no longer handle direct or indirect transactions involving the named service providers, pointing to "recent regulatory developments" as the reason for the step. In practice, that applies to deposits, withdrawals and transfers tied to the listed services for Binance users worldwide, not only those in Europe.
Three dates spread across August
Shelbit, registered as Shelbit General Trading LLC, and Aban Tether Exchange faced the initial cutoffs, effective August 7. A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, and PilotFinance Ltd were officially cut off on August 13.
The largest group is set to take effect on August 23. According to the exchange's published notice, this cutoff will involve Rapira, Aifory Pro (Sooty Ltd), ABCeX (Nueva Cryptologia S.A.S DE C.V.), WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto INC., Tradex (Brightum LLC), Monease Ltd, BitPapa, Exnode and Exnode Pay (Arvix), HTX (Huobi Global SA), and EXMO Ltd.
HTX and EXMO both stand out on this list, as they rank among the larger names covered by the restrictions.
Why is Binance restricting crypto platforms?
Binance did not name any specific regulator, but the list lines up closely with recent government action. The 14 platforms in the August 13 and August 23 waves match, entity for entity, the crypto services named in the European Union's 21st sanctions package against Russia.
The two remaining names, Shelbit and Aban Tether, were designated by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on August 7 as part of an action against networks that the Treasury said served the Iranian regime.
The designations extend a broader Western effort against crypto services accused of moving money for sanctioned Russian interests: the US sanctioned the Garantex exchange in 2022, the EU followed in 2024, and the platform announced its shutdown in 2025.
The EU ban binds only firms within its jurisdiction, whereas Binance's announcement carries no jurisdictional limit. Operators inside the bloc are already required to freeze the assets of the listed providers, and whether other global exchanges impose comparable blocks of their own remains to be seen.
Binance has warned that transactions attempted with a listed entity on or after its effective date may be placed on hold for compliance review, and that the associated wallet can face restrictions while the review is ongoing. Such activity may also breach Binance's terms of use.
HTX pushes back
HTX, formerly Huobi, has disputed the scope of the ban and restrictions. The exchange has said the sanctioned Panamanian-registered entity is separate from its trading operations and that compliance remains a priority for its operations.
It is also worth noting that sanctions remain an administrative measure and are not necessarily a criminal conviction, with none of the named platforms convicted of an offense in connection with these actions.
Several of the platforms have, however, been marked for sanctions before. The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office designated 18 entities and individuals on May 26, including HTX, EXMO, BitPapa, and Rapira, in an action it claimed targeted the so-called A7 network. EXMO has announced that it is winding down.
Binance has also spent months defending its sanctions record. The company says its sanctions exposure dropped 96.8% between January 2024 and July 2025, and that its compliance team currently has almost 1,500 staff, equal to about a quarter of its global employee headcount.
That posture follows Binance's November 2023 settlement with US authorities, under which the exchange pleaded guilty to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations and agreed to pay $4.3 billion, while its founder and then-CEO Changpeng Zhao stepped down after pleading guilty to a related charge.
