The FCA announced on Thursday that HTX, the exchange formerly known as Huobi, gave court undertakings not to knowingly promote its services to UK consumers, settling the lawsuit it filed in the High Court in London in October 2025.

The case was the first the FCA brought against a crypto firm for marketing to UK consumers since crypto came under the financial promotion rules in October 2023, and the settlement sits in a confidential Tomlin order that involves no admission of liability.

The surprising part is not just the settlement but the reversal: one of the world's largest crypto platforms, in which Tron founder Justin Sun took a controlling stake in 2022, has fully retreated from a major market after resisting for a year.

According to Finance Magnates, the FCA said HTX repeatedly failed to engage before moving to leave the UK, and the regulator asked social media companies to block HTX's accounts for UK users and asked Apple and Google to pull its apps from UK stores.

Decrypt reports that Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-registered first defendant, has undertaken not to communicate financial promotions in breach of UK law across HTX's website, apps and social media.

On its website, according to Decrypt, the exchange said existing UK customers are blocked from trading and have 48 hours to withdraw their assets before their accounts are closed.

Finance Magnates adds that British users can no longer deposit funds and new UK customers cannot sign up, with remaining users pointed to HTX's website for withdrawal instructions.

The court case was only one pressure point. Finance Magnates reports that in May the UK sanctioned the exchange along with 17 other crypto businesses described as part of networks supporting Russia's economy, and the European Union added HTX to its Russia sanctions list in July.

According to Decrypt, HTX has said Huobi Global S.A. is "distinct from the online HTX exchange" and has disputed that the UK designation covers its exchange. Binance also stopped processing transactions with HTX and ten other platforms from August 23, citing regulatory developments.

Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said crypto firms should be "under no illusion" that "being based overseas does not put them beyond the reach of UK law," adding that the message to other firms is clear: follow the rules or face the consequences.

The action highlights how regulators are trying to police global crypto companies with opaque corporate structures that reach customers via the internet.

HTX, per Reuters via CNA, said it takes local compliance requirements seriously and has proactively implemented measures to align with the UK's financial promotion regulations.

Serving UK users legally again would mean passing an FCA review that most crypto applicants have not cleared.

According to Finance Magnates, the regulator opened its authorization window for crypto firms on September 30, applications filed by February 28, 2027 will be assessed before the new regime starts on October 25, 2027, and existing registrations will not convert into authorizations automatically.

FM Intelligence data cited by Finance Magnates show only 68 of 391 completed crypto applications between January 2020 and August 1, 2026 ended in registration, a rate of 17% overall, rising to 56% in the latest 12 months on 23 decisions.