The United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi, have entered settlement discussions to resolve a landmark lawsuit accusing the Justin Sun-backed platform of illegally marketing crypto products to British consumers, according to court filings submitted on Thursday.

First-of-its-kind enforcement action

The lawsuit, which brought HTX before London's High Court in October 2025, marked an unprecedented step for the FCA — the first time the regulator had sued a cryptocurrency firm over its marketing practices directed at UK consumers. The case is being closely watched as a test of whether UK authorities can effectively enforce domestic promotion rules against globally distributed platforms with no physical UK presence.

HTX, which operated under the name Huobi before undergoing a rebrand, is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally. Chinese billionaire Justin Sun, known for founding the Tron blockchain network and its associated cryptocurrency, acquired a controlling stake in the exchange in 2022. Sun separately faces civil charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused him in March 2023 of the unregistered offer and sale of crypto asset securities and market manipulation — allegations he has disputed.

The FCA's legal action named Huobi Global, a company incorporated in Panama, along with unidentified "persons unknown" alleged to operate and control the exchange. The regulator expressed concern in its filing about the reach of global platforms that can shield themselves behind complex corporate structures while still delivering marketing content to UK users via the internet.

The FCA further asserted that HTX had ignored repeated outreach attempts and maintained what the regulator described as an "opaque operational structure."

Protracted settlement negotiations

The parties are not currently in active litigation. The High Court has paused proceedings until late August 2026 to allow both sides to pursue a potential settlement, according to the filings.

This pause represents the latest extension in a protracted negotiation process. According to Reuters, the parties exchanged emails in March before entering three months of formal talks. On June 25, court records show the talks were extended by an additional two months.

The FCA and HTX both declined to comment on the status of negotiations, and HTX's legal representatives did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

HTX's official position is that it does not serve UK customers. An undated notice on the exchange's website states that its products and services are not intended for users in the United Kingdom.

When asked about the ongoing legal proceedings, an HTX spokesperson provided a general statement rather than addressing specifics of the talks: HTX "remains dedicated to upholding high standards of compliance, transparency, and user protection and we will continue working collaboratively with the regulators to support the sustainable development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem."

Allegations of promotion rule violations

The UK established its cryptocurrency promotion rules in October 2023. Under these regulations, firms marketing crypto assets to British consumers must register with the FCA, pass anti-money-laundering and financial-crime checks, and include risk warnings and suitability assessments in their advertising. The framework extended the FCA's existing financial promotion regime — long applied to traditional securities and investment products — to cover crypto assets, bringing them under the same advertising oversight as other regulated financial instruments.

In February, the FCA formally accused HTX of breaching those promotion rules. The regulator obtained permission on February 4, 2026, to serve legal documents on the exchange through international channels.

The FCA stated that HTX advertisements appeared on major platforms including X, Telegram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Beyond the courtroom, the regulator has also taken steps to restrict HTX's reach. The exchange was added to the FCA's list of unauthorized companies in both 2023 and 2024 — a designation that means users have no protection or recourse to recover funds if the platform fails.

The FCA has also reportedly urged social media companies to remove HTX products from UK app stores and block accounts associated with UK-based users. The outcome of the settlement talks could set a precedent for how other offshore crypto exchanges operating in the UK market are pursued under the promotion regime, particularly as regulators across multiple jurisdictions grapple with similar enforcement challenges against platforms that assert no local presence.