HTX (Huobi) Exchange
Summary
HTX, formerly Huobi Global, is one of the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, rebranded in September 2023 under the influence of TRON founder Justin Sun. On May 26, 2026, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office designated Huobi Global S.A. — the Panama-registered legal entity behind the exchange — under Regulation 17A of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, making HTX the first major global crypto exchange to receive banking-style sanctions from UK authorities. Blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Elliptic documented over $4.9 billion in direct flows from HTX to sanctioned Russia-linked entities since 2021, and UK authorities allege the platform channeled over $1.5 billion to Russia through connections to previously sanctioned entities Garantex and the A7 payments network.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 10 more
Timeline(20 events)
2013-05-15
Leon Li acquires huobi.com domain; Huobi exchange founded in China
HTX Wikipedia / HTX official2017-08-01
Huobi and OKCoin reported to have invested ~$150 million of idle client funds in wealth-management products without clear disclosure
HTX Wikipedia2017-09-01
Chinese government bans ICOs and domestic crypto exchanges; Huobi pivots to global operations
HTX Wikipedia2018-08-01
Huobi completes reverse takeover of Hong Kong electronics manufacturer Pantronics Holdings, achieving HK Stock Exchange listing
HTX Wikipedia2021-06-22
Huobi data breach exposes 4,960 users' data due to improper AWS credential handling in Japan testing environment
Bitcoinist2023-03-22
SEC files civil lawsuit against Justin Sun, Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry Inc. alleging illegal securities distribution, market manipulation, and fraud
Pandaily / CoinDesk2023-09-24
HTX hot wallet hacked; approximately $7.9 million in ETH stolen due to private key leak
Halborn / Finance Magnates2023-09-25
Huobi rebrands as HTX; 'H' for Huobi, 'T' for TRON, 'X' for exchange
HTX official / The Block2023-10-07
September 2023 hacker returns stolen ETH funds; confirms hot wallet private key had leaked
Finance Magnates2023-11-01
HECO Chain bridge drained of ~$86.6 million; additional $12 million stolen from HTX hot wallets; HTX states it covered losses
Blockworks2025-03-07
Garantex disrupted by Western law enforcement; post-disruption HTX flows to Garantex successor exchanges subsequently accelerate 43% monthly
TRM Labs2025-09-01
World Liberty Financial blacklists Sun-affiliated wallet after on-chain analysts flag transfers routed through HTX
CoinDesk2025-10-08
FCA files civil proceedings against HTX in UK High Court for unlawful promotion of cryptoasset services
FCA press release2026-02-10
FCA publicly announces civil proceedings against HTX; places HTX on UK consumer Warning List; requests app store removals
FCA press release2026-03-05
Justin Sun settles SEC fraud case for $10 million via Rainberry Inc.; personal charges and foundation charges dismissed with prejudice
US News / CoinDesk2026-04-21
Justin Sun files lawsuit against World Liberty Financial over alleged wrongful freezing of 2.9 billion WLFI tokens
CoinDesk2026-05-26
UK FCDO designates Huobi Global S.A. under Regulation 17A of Russia sanctions regime as part of 18-entity package; first ever banking-style sanctions applied to a major crypto exchange
UK Government / CoinDesk / Bloomberg2026-05-27
HTX publicly rejects UK sanctions allegations; claims designated entity is legally distinct; major exchanges including Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Bitget increase transfer scrutiny
CoinDesk / Crypto TimesDecision Log
- hash: DNJ36nbCLBRjdj7iafiv4pbbDY76WVJ4Kaquy6oA9tDr
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/27/2026, 6:39:32 PM
last updated: 5/27/2026, 6:39:45 PM
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