HTX, the crypto exchange where Justin Sun serves as global adviser, has agreed to leave the UK following a settlement with the Financial Conduct Authority over unlawful crypto promotions.
The FCA secured undertakings in High Court that Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-registered company operating HTX, will not knowingly promote crypto services unlawfully to UK consumers. The exchange must prevent financial promotions in breach of UK law across its website, apps and social media.
HTX is no longer active in the UK. UK consumers cannot make deposits, and new UK users cannot sign up. The exchange said existing UK customers are blocked from trading and have 48 hours to withdraw their assets before accounts close.
"Crypto firms should be under no illusion: being based overseas does not put them beyond the reach of UK law," Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said in a statement.
HTX said it had "proactively implemented measures to align with the UK's financial promotion regulations," according to the Financial Times. The settlement terms are confidential and do not constitute an admission of liability or wrongdoing, the FCA said.
The FCA began proceedings in October 2025, calling it its first enforcement case against a crypto firm under UK financial promotion rules. Settlement talks began in March and extended in June.
In May, the UK sanctioned Huobi Global S.A. over alleged support for Russia's financial sector. Two months later, the European Union named Huobi Global in its 21st Russia sanctions package, accusing it of "significantly frustrating" the bloc's measures and barring EU transactions with the exchange.