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On May 26, the UK government officially announced that they are imposing a ban on HTX and its entity Huobi Global S.A. for helping Russia.
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In the official document, UK officials have mentioned that HTX was supporting Russia and generating profit out of it. It has also helped sanctioned Russian entities, including A7 LLC.
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Russia is reportedly using a large number of crypto entities to evade sanctions imposed by Western countries.
After a thorough investigation launched by U.K. authorities, the local authority has finally taken a decision to ban HUOBI GLOBAL (HTX), a leading cryptocurrency exchange, for helping the Government of Russia and benefiting from it.
HTX has been sanctioned by the UK@HTX_Global pic.twitter.com/RjdbdaJTuq
— Tom Robinson (@tomrobin) May 26, 2026
Why is the U.K. Banning HTX Crypto Exchange?
In the official statement, the authority shared a detailed reason behind the decision to ban HTX. The ban will block people and companies in the United Kingdom from doing any kind of business with the leading cryptocurrency exchange.
The reason mentioned on the official website stated that, “The Secretary of State considers that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that HUOBI GLOBAL SA is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by providing financial services, or making available funds, economic resources, goods or technology, to a person, namely A7 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, which is carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia.”
It added more, “The Secretary of State considers that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that HUOBI GLOBAL SA has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by providing financial services, or making available funds, economic resources, goods or technology, to a person, namely GARANTEX Europe OU, which is carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia.”
After this ban, the cryptocurrency exchange will face many restrictions in the country, and most of its assets will be frozen. The cryptocurrency exchange will not be able to continue its services. The authority has also imposed bans on correspondent banking and payment processing that involve UK entities.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had already taken action against HTX in late 2025. Earlier, the FCA accused HTX of advertising crypto services to UK consumers without any permission while ignoring warnings from the officials.
West Launches Crackdown on Russia-Related Crypto Transactions
Western allies are closely monitoring the cryptocurrency sector after considering a major loophole in sanctions against Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
In order to evade sanctions imposed by Ukraine’s allies, Russia is using digital assets like Bitcoin to move money for importing goods, purchasing military equipment, and bypassing frozen bank accounts.
The United Kingdom has imposed more than 3,000 sanctions in the Russia-related cases. In August 2025, it imposed sanctions on crypto exchanges in Kyrgyzstan, such as Grinex and Meer, along with infrastructure for a token called A7A5. Apart from this, the government officials have also targeted crypto networks in Central Asia that are used for crypto-based evasion.
Recently, the EU has proposed a blanket ban on crypto transactions involving Russia and Russia-based crypto platforms.
