HTX settles FCA case with UK promotion restrictions to 2031
HTX has settled its UK financial promotions case with the Financial Conduct Authority, giving court undertakings lasting until Oct. 21, 2031, as the regulator confirms the exchange has stopped accepting UK deposits and new registrations.
Summary
- UK customers can no longer deposit funds, while new users are blocked from registering.
- Court undertakings cover unlawful promotions through HTX’s website, applications and social media channels.
- HTX says its UK restrictions and exit arrangements were implemented before the settlement.
- The agreement contains no admission of liability or wrongdoing, and its terms remain confidential.
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Oct. 29 that HTX, formerly Huobi, is no longer active in Britain and will not target, solicit or actively seek to engage UK consumers. Customers with assets remaining on the platform were directed to the exchange’s information on withdrawal arrangements.
A High Court order dated Oct. 27 records a confidential settlement agreement signed on Oct. 16 between the regulator and Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-incorporated first defendant. The court stayed further proceedings except for enforcement of the agreement and allowed either party to seek enforcement without filing a new claim.
HTX undertakings cover websites, apps and social media
According to the order’s schedule, Huobi Global must not knowingly communicate, or cause others to communicate, financial promotions that breach section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
The undertaking covers direct and indirect communications, including through officers and agents. Its scope includes the HTX website, similar websites operated by the exchange, software applications and social platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, YouTube, Discord, Medium and LinkedIn.
Deputy Master Holden made no order as to costs. The published document identifies the undertaking’s end date but keeps the settlement agreement itself confidential.
The FCA said the settlement does not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Huobi Global or any other person or entity.
In its response, HTX described the outcome as a resolution following “constructive engagement” and said it had strengthened restrictions and operational measures connected with the UK market and its exit arrangements.
UK customers are directed to residual asset arrangements
HTX said its operational changes had been implemented before the settlement was reached.
“These arrangements were in place well before the present resolution was reached,” the exchange said.
“The settlement reinforces these enhancements and measures, and does not constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or misconduct by HTX.”
The company said it had worked collaboratively and in good faith to address the regulator’s concerns. It described the resolution as ending legal uncertainty and said it remained willing to engage with regulators and other industry participants.
The FCA’s account of the period before litigation differs. Its announcement said HTX repeatedly failed to engage before proceedings prompted steps to exit the country.
Steve Smart, the regulator’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said overseas incorporation does not remove firms from the reach of British law.
“Our action means HTX is leaving the UK and can no longer target UK consumers,” Smart said.
The regulator’s warning page for HTX says customers cannot use the Financial Ombudsman Service to resolve complaints involving the firm and do not receive Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection if things go wrong.
Court records trace settlement efforts to March
The regulator filed its claim on Oct. 21, 2025, and publicly announced the enforcement action on Feb. 10, 2026. At that time, the FCA described it as its first enforcement action against a crypto firm illegally marketing products to UK consumers.
Its February statement alleged that HTX continued publishing unlawful promotions on its website and social media after earlier warnings. Although new UK registrations had been restricted, the regulator said existing customers could still log in and view promotions, with no assurance that the restrictions would remain permanent.
The agency requested that social media companies block the exchange’s accounts for UK consumers and that Apple and Google remove its applications from their UK stores.
The case page records that the High Court authorized service outside the UK and by alternative means on Feb. 4. The named defendants included Huobi Global and unidentified people controlling the exchange, its applications and its promotional accounts.
By March 31, a consent order had paused proceedings between the FCA and Huobi Global for three months to allow settlement efforts. The order permitted either side to end that pause with two weeks’ written notice and required a draft consent order if an agreement was reached.
Separate sanctions and new licensing rules remain in view
As previously reported by crypto.news, HTX disputed the scope of UK sanctions imposed in May, arguing that Huobi Global was legally separate from the operating exchange. The company said user funds were unaffected and that it would engage with British authorities.
In August, Justin Sun said Binance restrictions involving HTX applied only to UK and EU users. Binance’s notice did not itself specify that limitation, according to the August coverage, which reported that the platform cited compliance requirements in jurisdictions where it operates.
The same coverage reported that the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation considered HTX subject to British financial sanctions because of its ownership by Huobi Global.
Meanwhile, the FCA’s September guidance required crypto firms to assess which permissions they need under the incoming authorization framework. Existing anti-money laundering registrations will not automatically become approvals under the new rules.
The regulator opened applications on Sep. 30 and instructed firms intending to continue operating in the UK to apply by Feb. 28, 2027. The new cryptoasset regime takes effect on Oct. 25, 2027.
