Huobi / HTX
Summary
HTX (formerly Huobi), one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was designated by the UK government on May 26, 2026 under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, marking the first time the UK applied banking-style Regulation 17A correspondent-banking sanctions to a crypto exchange of this scale. The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office alleged that the Panama-registered operating entity, Huobi Global S.A., channeled approximately USD 1.5 billion to Russia-linked entities — including the A7 payments network and previously sanctioned exchange Garantex — allegedly aiding the evasion of international trade blockades tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. HTX disputed the allegations, asserting that Huobi Global S.A. is legally distinct from the online exchange platform, while on-chain analytics firms published data flagging up to USD 7.6 billion in total Russia-linked flows through HTX since 2021.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 4 more
Timeline(15 events)
2013-09-01
Huobi launches Bitcoin trading platform in China, founded by Leon Li.
HTX (cryptocurrency exchange) — Wikipedia2022-04-05
OFAC sanctions Garantex, a Russia-based cryptocurrency exchange, for facilitating over USD 100 million in transactions linked to illicit actors and darknet markets.
US Department of the Treasury2022-10-01
Leon Li sells his majority stake in Huobi to About Capital Management. Justin Sun acquires a controlling interest. Li exits all operational roles.
HTX (cryptocurrency exchange) — Wikipedia2023-03-22
SEC charges Justin Sun and three of his companies with fraud, market manipulation via wash trading, and unregistered offer and sale of crypto securities TRX and BTT.
SEC.gov press release2023-09-01
Huobi Global rebrands to HTX, announced by Justin Sun at TOKEN2049. The name combines Huobi (H), Tron (T), and Exchange (X).
Huobi Global Rebrands to HTX — Nasdaq2023-09-24
HTX hot wallet compromised via alleged private key leak; approximately USD 7.9 million in ETH stolen.
CoinDesk2023-10-07
Hacker returns the USD 7.9 million stolen from HTX hot wallet after on-chain negotiation; receives 250 ETH white-hat bonus.
Halborn Security Blog2023-11-23
HTX and HECO Chain bridge suffer coordinated hack; combined losses estimated at approximately USD 115 million.
CNBC2025-03-07
International law enforcement operation seizes Garantex; operators charged with money laundering. Garantex subsequently rebrands as Grinex.
CoinDesk2025-10-01
UK FCA initiates High Court proceedings against Huobi Global S.A. for allegedly publishing illegal financial promotions to UK consumers.
FCA2026-03-06
SEC dismisses fraud and market manipulation charges against Justin Sun and Tron/BitTorrent foundations with prejudice; Rainberry Inc. pays USD 10 million penalty.
Yahoo Finance2026-04-01
Garantex successor exchange Grinex halts operations following continued international enforcement pressure.
CoinDesk2026-05-26
UK FCDO designates Huobi Global S.A. under Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, alleging the exchange channeled approximately USD 1.5 billion to Russia-linked entities including A7 network and Garantex. First application of Regulation 17A banking-style sanctions to a crypto exchange of this scale.
UK Government Sanctions Notice2026-05-26
HTX issues official statement denying the designation affects the online exchange, asserting Huobi Global S.A. is a legally distinct entity, and stating intent to cooperate with UK authorities.
Yahoo Finance / HTX official statement2026-05-27
Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Bitget announce enhanced compliance scrutiny for transactions involving HTX addresses following the UK sanctions designation.
CoinDeskDecision Log
- hash: HWbSBSF5WZroUvik9tm4EkBpA79dWS5qHJ643EMFJ1ox
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 6/29/2026, 11:20:23 PM
last updated: 6/29/2026, 11:20:34 PM
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