HTX, the cryptocurrency exchange formerly known as Huobi, is exiting the United Kingdom after settling the Financial Conduct Authority's first court case against a crypto firm over unlawful marketing. UK users can no longer deposit funds into HTX, and new sign-ups have been blocked. The FCA will keep the terms of the settlement confidential.

The regulator announced on Thursday that it had secured High Court undertakings from Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-registered company named as lead defendant, under which the exchange will not knowingly run illegal crypto promotions to British consumers through its website, apps, or social media accounts. The undertakings are detailed in the FCA's press release, FCA stops HTX's crypto promotions.

Legal proceedings began on 21 October 2025 in London's High Court, but the FCA only made the case public on 10 February 2026. It marks the first time the regulator has taken enforcement action against a crypto exchange under rules that came into force in October 2023, which require any company promoting cryptoassets to UK customers—including firms based overseas—to route its promotions through an authorized firm. For offshore platforms, that means having no UK base does not exempt them from the regime if they market to British consumers.

According to the FCA, HTX repeatedly failed to engage with the regulator and then moved to leave the UK. After the case became public, the FCA asked social media platforms to block HTX accounts for UK users and requested that Apple and Google remove the HTX apps from their UK app stores.

Steve Smart, the FCA's head of enforcement and market oversight, said overseas crypto firms should not assume they are "beyond the reach of UK law."

HTX has agreed to a set of formal, legally binding commitments, known as undertakings, recorded in a Tomlin order dated 27 October. The commitments remain in force until 21 October 2031, meaning they will still bind the exchange after the UK's new crypto authorization regime takes effect on 25 October 2027. The FCA said the terms are confidential and stressed that nothing in the agreement admits any liability or wrongdoing by Huobi Global or anyone else.

HTX has said it was proactive in implementing measures that align with the UK's financial promotion regulations. On its own website, the exchange stated that existing UK customers are blocked from trading and will receive a one-time 48-hour window to withdraw remaining assets, subject to approval and compliance checks, before their accounts close.

In earlier particulars of claim, the FCA said an employee working from a UK IP address had bought and traded cryptoassets on HTX using a UK driving license as identification, and that GBP was an available currency on the platform. The regulator counted 4.6 million UK visits to HTX in 2023 and 13,000 more through October 2024—figures that underline how widely the platform reached British consumers.

Justin Sun's connection to HTX

HTX counts Tron founder Justin Sun, who took a controlling stake in 2022, as an adviser. Britain sanctioned Huobi Global on 26 May 2026 over suspected support for Russia's government, and the European Union added HTX to its Russia sanctions list on 23 July, with a transaction ban taking effect on 23 August.

HTX has disputed that the UK designation covers the exchange, arguing that Huobi Global S.A. is a distinct entity—a claim UK authorities rejected because Huobi Global owns the platform.

Broader enforcement context

Taking a company to court over its promotions is relatively rare for the FCA. In 2024, the regulator flagged nearly 20,000 financial promotions, almost twice as many as the year before, with most of that work handled without court action—which makes the HTX case one of the regulator's rare court actions in this space.

Crypto remains largely unregulated in Britain beyond anti-money-laundering and financial promotion rules, which hold until October 2027. The FCA opened its authorization window for crypto firms on 30 September. Applications filed by 28 February 2027 will be assessed before the new regime begins on 25 October 2027, and existing AML registrations will not convert automatically—so firms that want to be assessed before the new rules take effect must apply ahead of that deadline.

Notably, 68 of 391 completed crypto applications between January 2020 and August 2026 ended in registration—a 17% rate over the full period, meaning most completed applications did not result in registration.