HTX exits UK after FCA High Court order on crypto promotions

The Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday 29 October 2026 that HTX is no longer active in the UK. UK users cannot deposit funds, and new UK customers cannot sign up. The exchange will not target, solicit or actively seek UK consumers, the regulator said.

Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-incorporated company behind HTX, gave undertakings to the High Court not to knowingly promote crypto services in breach of UK law until 21 October 2031. The pledges cover the exchange's website, apps and social media accounts. The terms are confidential. The FCA said the agreement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by Huobi Global or anyone else.

What the court order does

The order was made by consent before Deputy Master Holden on 27 October. It is a Tomlin order, which stays the FCA's claim on the confidential terms rather than deciding it. The order makes no award of costs and contains no ruling on the regulator's allegations, Unchained reported.

The agreement behind the order is dated 16 October, 11 days before the order. The undertakings end on 21 October 2031, six years after the FCA filed its claim on 21 October 2025 and five years after the 16 October 2026 agreement.

What UK users face

HTX set out its UK exit arrangements in a 16 October notice. Existing UK accounts could no longer deposit, trade or transact. Eligible individual users who still hold assets can ask customer support for a one-time 48-hour withdrawal window, subject to approval and compliance checks.

The checks include identity, sanctions, anti-money laundering and fraud screening, according to the notice. Withdrawals also depend on a personal remittances general licence. Accounts close once all assets have been withdrawn. The FCA pointed remaining UK users to HTX's website for instructions on withdrawing their assets.

Why the FCA brought the case

The case was the first FCA action against a crypto firm over marketing since crypto came under the financial promotion rules in October 2023. The FCA began proceedings on 21 October 2025 and made the case public on 10 February 2026.

The regulator alleged HTX kept advertising to UK consumers despite a warning in October 2023. HTX did not answer its inquiries, the FCA said. When the case went public, the regulator asked social media companies to block HTX's accounts for UK users. It also asked Apple and Google to pull its apps from their UK stores.

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." He added that the action means HTX is leaving the UK and can no longer target UK consumers.

Court action is the exception. The FCA said it flagged nearly 20,000 financial promotions in 2024, almost double the year before. FM Intelligence's fines and warnings tracker logged 240 UK warnings in the 30 days to 28 October, FinanceMagnates reported.

What happens next

The FCA opened its authorization window for crypto firms on 30 September 2026. Applications filed by 28 February 2027 will be assessed before the new regime starts on 25 October 2027, and existing registrations will not convert into authorizations automatically.

Serving UK users legally again would mean passing an FCA review that most crypto applicants have not cleared. Under the current anti-money laundering registration regime, 68 of 391 completed crypto applications between January 2020 and 1 August 2026 ended in registration, FM Intelligence data show. Another 263 were withdrawn. That is a 17% rate for the full period.

The FCA says crypto in the UK remains largely unregulated outside anti-money laundering and financial promotion rules until the new regime begins. HTX's undertakings run until 21 October 2031. Any UK marketing before then would have to fit those terms.