The European Union has added cryptocurrency exchange HTX to a new sanctions package targeting Russia and Belarusian nationals, alongside 17 other crypto-related entities.
HTX, formerly known as Huobi and founded in China, is considered one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platforms by volume.
Hong Kong-based billionaire Justin Sun acquired a controlling stake in the exchange back in 2022, cementing his influence over one of the industry’s most prominent platforms.
The EU listed 18 companies providing crypto services that it said helped Russians evade existing international sanctions, with that list made public on Friday.
EU officials stated: “The Union has repeatedly taken measures to identify financial institutions, credit institutions or entities providing crypto-asset services or payment services that facilitate a continued financial lifeline for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The bloc specifically targeted those “providing crypto-assets services or payment services established outside of the Union that are significantly frustrating the purpose of the prohibitions” against Russia.
Russia has faced sweeping international sanctions since its military invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with subsequent packages progressively targeting financial workarounds.
The EU’s latest package also takes aim at banks, oil traders, the so-called shadow fleet, and Russian energy revenues beyond the crypto sector.
HTX was first sanctioned by the UK in May as part of a package focused on what London described as “shadow financial systems” underpinning Russia’s war economy.
That designation was widely seen as a landmark moment, with analysts noting it was the first time a major exchange of HTX’s scale had faced such a designation.
The UK previously sanctioned Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-based entity behind HTX, froze its assets, and barred British firms from handling any payments involving the company.
UK authorities linked HTX to Garantex, a sanctioned Russia-connected exchange that shut down after Tether froze approximately $28 million in USDT in March 2025, with blockchain forensic firms later identifying Grinex as its likely successor.
Notably, the EU’s sanctioning of HTX does not constitute a full designation and does not include an asset freeze, distinguishing it from the UK’s earlier action.
HTX previously told Cointelegraph that “regulatory compliance remains [its] absolute top priority” and that the exchange will “proactively monitor and strictly adhere to regulatory frameworks in all jurisdictions.”
Meanwhile, EXMO, another firm sanctioned by the UK in the same package, has reportedly begun winding down operations after the sanctions disrupted its access to custodians and banking partners.
HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via email.
