HTX Ends UK Access After FCA Court Settlement Over Crypto Promotions

HTX’s UK exit closes a dispute over crypto promotions with a practical change for customers: UK users can no longer deposit funds or create new accounts, and the exchange has agreed not to target or solicit them. The settlement with Huobi Global S.A., the company identified as behind HTX, does not include an admission of liability or wrongdoing.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) secured the undertakings through a High Court settlement after pursuing Huobi Global S.A. over alleged breaches of rules governing financial promotions. The FCA said HTX had repeatedly failed to engage with it. After proceedings began, the company took steps to leave the UK, the FCA said.

HTX told the Financial Times that it had “proactively implemented measures to align with the UK’s financial promotion regulations.” The settlement sets out the resulting restrictions on HTX’s UK-facing activity. It does not, by itself, resolve the disagreement over how the exchange and its parent company should be described or who bears responsibility for the earlier promotions.

What changes for UK users

The FCA’s account is direct: HTX is no longer active in the UK, deposits are unavailable to consumers there, and new UK users cannot sign up. The company also undertook not to seek out UK consumers. For existing customers, the source material does not explain how any remaining account access, withdrawals or support will work. Users should therefore distinguish the stated closure of deposits and registrations from details about other account services, which are not provided here.

That distinction matters because a platform exit can affect different customer actions in different ways. A ban on deposits does not automatically describe whether customers can view balances, withdraw assets or contact support. The FCA’s quoted description confirms the limits on deposits, sign-ups and solicitation; it offers no further account-by-account instructions. Anyone with an HTX account should rely on current, direct service information for the status of their own account rather than infer those details from the settlement summary.

The case arose from the FCA’s October 2025 proceedings, which alleged that HTX promoted cryptoasset services to UK consumers in breach of rules introduced in October 2023. The settlement is the latest step in that dispute. Since the agreement expressly does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing, it should not be read as a finding that Huobi Global S.A. accepted the allegations.

Ownership remains part of the dispute

The UK action sits alongside separate measures involving Huobi Global S.A. and HTX. The source reports that the UK sanctioned Huobi Global S.A. in May 2026 over a suspected role in providing financial services to Russia, and that the European Union sanctioned the company and HTX in July 2026 over an alleged role in frustrating existing EU sanctions against Russia. These are separate matters from the FCA settlement, which concerns financial promotions and the exchange’s UK activity.

HTX had previously argued that Huobi Global S.A. was distinct from the online exchange. The ownership picture described in the source complicates that position: Protos reported that Huobi Global S.A. owned the HTX trademark in the United States and had described itself in court filings as the firm that “owns and operates HTX.” The EU measures also list HTX alongside Huobi Global S.A. Those details make the relationship between the corporate entity and the consumer-facing platform relevant to understanding who is affected by actions naming either one.

Earlier reporting on Huobi Global S.A. and HTX examined that distinction. The FCA’s account of the settlement describes the restrictions and the absence of an admission, while the exchange’s statement to the Financial Times presents its own account of steps taken to align with UK rules.

What to watch next

For users, the immediate question is how HTX handles accounts and assets after closing deposits and new registrations in the UK. For other exchanges and product teams, the case shows how promotional activity can become a point of dispute even when a platform’s ownership structure is contested. The settlement gives a clear account of the UK access restrictions, but leaves the underlying allegations unadmitted and offers limited detail about existing customers’ next steps.

European Union measures naming HTX and Huobi Global S.A.

Read more: HTX’s proof of reserves doesn’t match its blockchain balances

For additional background on the UK measures involving Huobi Global S.A., see Protos’ earlier report. For its account of the EU measures, see this report.

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The original report appeared at Protos.