FCA settles HTX case, exchange quits UK on secret terms

HTX, the crypto exchange formerly called Huobi, is leaving 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 their funds into HTX, and new sign-ups have also been blocked. The FCA will keep the terms of the settlement confidential.

Is HTX leaving the United Kingdom?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced on Thursday that HTX, which was formerly known as Huobi, will be leaving the United Kingdom. The FCA said it had secured High Court undertakings from Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-registered company named as the lead defendant, that the exchange will not knowingly run illegal crypto promotions to British consumers through its website, apps or social media accounts.

The FCA started legal action against the crypto exchange HTX in London’s High Court on 21 October 2025, but only made the case public on 10 February 2026.

This is the first time the FCA has taken enforcement action against a crypto exchange under rules that came into force in October 2023. Those rules say any company promoting cryptoassets to UK customers, even one based overseas, must send its promotions through an authorized firm.

The FCA says HTX repeatedly failed to engage with it and then moved to leave the UK. Once the case became public, the FCA asked social media platforms to block HTX accounts for UK users. It also asked Apple and Google to take the HTX apps off 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, that are recorded in a Tomlin order. 

The order is dated 27 October, and the commitments remain in force until 21 October 2031. The FCA said the terms are confidential. It also stressed that nothing in the agreement admits any liability or wrongdoing by Huobi Global or anyone else.

HTX has said that it was proactive in implementing measures that align with the UK’s financial promotion regulations. On its own website, the exchange said existing UK customers are blocked from trading and get 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 ID, 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.

What is 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 Huobi Global S.A. is a distinct entity, a claim UK authorities rejected because Huobi Global owns the platform.

Taking a company to court over its promotions is something the FCA does less often. In 2024, it flagged nearly 20,000 financial promotions, almost twice as many as the year before. Most of that work was handled without going to court.

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.

Notably, 68 of 391 completed crypto applications between January 2020 and August 2026 ended in registration, a 17% rate over the full period.