HTX, the exchange formerly known as Huobi, has settled the Financial Conduct Authority's lawsuit over illegal promotions and left the UK market. The exchange gave court undertakings not to knowingly promote its services to UK consumers, and the settlement terms stay confidential.
HTX has settled a lawsuit brought by the Financial Conduct Authority and left the UK market, the regulator said on Thursday. The case was the first the FCA brought against a crypto firm for marketing to UK consumers since crypto came under the financial promotion rules in October 2023.
The FCA said HTX is no longer active in the UK. British users can no longer deposit funds, new UK customers cannot sign up, and the exchange has committed not to target, solicit or actively seek UK consumers on its website, apps or social media.
A year in the High Court
The FCA sued HTX in the High Court in London in October 2025, naming Panama-incorporated Huobi Global S.A. and several groups of unidentified people who run the exchange and its social media accounts. When it made the case public in February, the regulator asked social media companies to block HTX's accounts for UK users and asked Apple and Google to pull its apps from their UK stores.
The settlement sits in a Tomlin order dated Tuesday. Its terms are confidential and are not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Huobi Global or anyone else, the FCA said. Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said crypto firms should be under no illusion that "being based overseas does not put them beyond the reach of UK law."
Sanctions added to the pressure
The court case was not the only pressure on HTX this year. In May, the UK sanctioned the exchange along with 17 other crypto businesses, and the European Union added HTX to its Russia sanctions list in July. HTX has disputed that the UK designation covers its exchange.
What a return would take
Serving UK users legally again would mean passing an FCA review. The regulator opened its authorization window for crypto firms on September 30, and applications filed by February 28, 2027 will be assessed before the new regime starts on October 25, 2027.
Under the current anti-money laundering registration regime, 68 of 391 completed crypto applications between January 2020 and August 1, 2026 ended in registration. Another 263 were withdrawn.
Source: Finance Magnates
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