Court Undertaking Bars HTX from Illegal Crypto Promotions in Britain Until 2031

Key Facts

The UK Financial Conduct Authority secured undertakings from the High Court barring HTX, formerly known as Huobi, from knowingly unlawfully promoting cryptoasset services to consumers in the UK, according to a statement issued by the regulator on 29 October 2026. The undertakings cover the platform’s website, apps and social media platforms, while the restrictions include communicating any financial promotion in breach of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The regulator said HTX is no longer active in the UK market, and consumers cannot make new deposits, while new users cannot register. It added that the company will not target UK consumers or seek to engage with them. The court undertaking is the latest development in proceedings the regulator began against the company in 2025 over the marketing of its services to UK consumers.

According to the regulator, Huobi Global undertakes not to communicate, directly or indirectly, a financial promotion in breach of section 21, or cause one to be communicated. The undertaking extends to the website, apps and social media accounts, bringing the platform’s digital marketing channels within the court restrictions. It comes amid financial promotion rules covering advertisements aimed at UK consumers, including those published through social media platforms. The regulator said the measure’s impact on HTX users in Britain includes stopping deposits and preventing new users from registering. It also said the platform will not target or seek to engage UK consumers, without providing further details on arrangements for existing users to withdraw any remaining assets.

The regulator began High Court proceedings on 21 October 2025 against Huobi Global S.A., a company incorporated in Panama, and against unidentified individuals it said control the platform or manage its promotions. The regulator said in February 2026 that HTX continued to publish unlawful financial promotions on its website and on platforms including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It said it had asked social media companies to block the platform’s accounts and Apple and Google to remove its apps in Britain. The allegations at the time included continued publication of promotions across multiple channels, while the current court undertaking covers the website, apps and social media platforms broadly. This sequence places the undertaking at the end of an enforcement process that began with court proceedings and then included requests concerning the platform’s accounts and apps.

Cryptoasset firms marketing to UK consumers have been subject to financial promotion rules since October 2023, whether based inside or outside the UK. The regulator said the regime covers overseas firms as long as they market their services to UK consumers. Its statement quoted Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight, as saying that “being based overseas does not put firms beyond the reach of UK law.” He added that the action means HTX is leaving the UK market and cannot target consumers there. This point matters in applying the rules to global platforms operating from outside Britain, as the regulator links their scope to marketing services to UK consumers. Reuters described the platform as one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges and said Justin Sun bought a controlling stake in it in 2022.

The regulator said the settlement terms are confidential and do not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Huobi Global or any other person or entity. The details of the agreement that ended the litigation were therefore not disclosed, while the court undertaking remains focused on preventing unlawful financial promotions. The statement limits the conclusions that can be drawn about the responsibility of the company or other parties in the case. In the broader market context, the regulator said cryptocurrencies remain a high-risk investment and are largely subject to limited regulation in Britain. It added that the current framework focuses on anti-money laundering and financial promotion rules until October 2027. That date sets a timeframe for the existing regulation, while the regulator’s statement gives no details about changes that may follow.