Kate Gee examines the FCA beginning proceedings against HTX in Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence

On 4 February, the High Court granted the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction, and by alternative means, against Huobi Global (operating as HTX) and related parties. It follows the commencement of proceedings by the FCA in October 2025 in the Chancery Division of the High Court against Huobi Global, a Panama-incorporated cryptocurrency exchange, and “persons unknown” – including individuals who are described as “controlling the exchange and managing its promotions.”

The FCA explained that this action was taken as “part of our commitment to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of UK financial markets. We have seen crypto firms react positively to our financial promotions’ rules and regulation, however where we still see poor practices we will not hesitate to take action where firms appear to be breaching our rules.”

Most recently, the regulator followed the High Court’s February decision with a statement on its website headed: “FCA takes action against HTX to stop illegal financial promotions. The FCA has begun legal proceedings against global crypto exchange HTX (formerly Huobi) for illegally promoting cryptoasset services to UK consumers.”

The FCA took the opportunity to reiterate points which it has repeatedly made on its website, appealing directly to crypto companies that target consumers within the UK: “Firms providing crypto products to UK consumers need to comply with rules which protect consumers from unfair and misleading marketing. Advertising cryptoassets on social media or websites without complying with these rules is a criminal offence.”

This  is the most recent in a series of regulatory steps taken by the FCA in relation to HTX, which offers trading in more than 700 digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and its native token HT. The process began with warnings issued by the regulator in 2023, followed by inclusion on the FCA’s Warning List, a public register of firms that operate in the UK without official authorisation, before the commencement of the legal proceedings last October.

This is the first time that the UK regulator has taken such action against a crypto company since the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA) amendments came into force in June 2023. It therefore serves as a warning from the FCA to international crypto firms about what they need to do before marketing their products and services to UK consumers, and the potential consequences of non-compliance with the rules or – for example – failure  to secure authorisation from the regulator.

For participants in the rapidly growing and evolving digital asset sector, the 2023 FSMA amendments were intended to provide clarity, certainty and protection for consumers, businesses and investors, to strengthen protection, and to enable customers to be better informed about risks associated with their investments. Specifically, Section 21 of FSMA prohibits unauthorised financial promotions – including those relating to qualifying cryptoassets.

To protect consumers and investors from risks associated with cryptoassets, the FCA also brought cryptoassets within scope of the Financial Promotion Rules (effective from October 2023), which primarily focus on unfair and misleading marketing, transparency, and, increasingly, operational conduct. The core framework of the updated regulatory regime includes mandatory risk warnings, the banning of incentives, and, from late 2025, the application of the Consumer Duty to force higher standards of care.

The above serves to remind firms that provide or seek to provide crypto products to UK consumers to strictly comply with the applicable laws and regulations.

Despite warnings issued by the FCA that HTX’s promotion of crypto services to UK consumers was considered illegal, HTX nevertheless continued to publish financial information promoting its crypto services - on its website, on social media platforms and on messenger services, including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Discord, Medium and LinkedIn.

According to the FCA, HTX operates an “opaque organisational structure, hiding the identities of its owners and the operators of its website.” In addition, the regulator notes that repeated attempts by the FCA to engage with HTX were ignored.

Since the proceedings were first issued, HTX has taken steps to restrict new UK customers from registering an account – but the FCA notes that existing UK users “can still log in and access unlawful financial promotions, and HTX has given no assurance that the changes will be permanent.” The FCA therefore remains concerned that the risk of ongoing breaches continues.

The FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, Steve Smart, confirmed that: “Our rules are designed to support a sustainable and competitive crypto market in the UK, ensuring that consumers have what they need to make informed decisions. HTX’s conduct stands in stark contrast to the majority of firms working to comply with the FCA’s regime. This is the first time we’ve taken enforcement action against a crypto firm illegally marketing their products to UK consumers. We’ll continue to act against firms who ignore our rules.”

In a further step to protect consumers, the FCA has requested that major tech platforms, including social media companies, block HTX’s social media accounts to UK-based consumers and that HTX applications be removed from the Google Play and Apple App stores for UK-based users.

Although crypto companies are required to register with the regulator - to undergo checks on financial crime and anti-money laundering controls - before they can be authorised to undertake business in the UK, neither HTX or Huobi are listed among the 50 or so groups that have been authorised to date.

But in a clear message to current and potential investors, the names of HTX and Huobi do currently appear on the FCA’s Warning List of companies that it believes are seeking to attract UK consumers without having obtained the necessary authorisation. Individuals can check the regulator’s Warning List to see if a firm is considered to be operating illegally and visit the FCA’s cryptoasset promotions page for more information on how to protect themselves.

The FCA has also stated that consumers who continue to deal with HTX will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman ServiceLink if they have a complaint - and most significantly, that they are “unlikely to get their money back if it (HTX) goes out of business and should avoid dealing with this, or similar unauthorised firms.”

The legal proceedings brought against HTX demonstrate the FCA monitoring activities and, as required, the agency being willing to take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with the applicable laws and regulations. It should be considered a clear warning to any non-compliant firms in the sector - in particular, those which have already received warning notices from the FCA. The proceedings also serve as a reminder to consumers that they should carefully scrutinise the opportunities presented to them in any cryptoasset promotional material before making any investment decision.