In brief
- The FCA has commenced legal proceedings against HTX (formerly Huobi) for illegally promoting cryptoasset services to UK consumers.
- The proceedings highlight the FCA's willingness to bring enforcement action against cryptoasset firms providing services to UK consumers.
- We discuss the key purposes the FCA's action is intended to serve.
FCA enforcement action
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a press release on 10 February 2026 confirming that it has begun legal proceedings against global crypto exchange HTX (formerly Huobi) for illegally promoting cryptoasset services to UK customers.
The FCA commenced proceedings on 21 October 2025 and received permission from the High Court on 4 February 2026 to serve the proceedings out of the jurisdiction by alternative means.
Since 8 October 2023, advertising cryptoassets on social media or websites to UK consumers without complying with rules on financial promotions under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) has been a criminal offence. Many firms that the FCA has engaged with have reacted positively and comply with the financial promotion regime. However, HTX continued to illegally promote its services to UK consumers in breach of FSMA.
HTX has since restricted access to existing UK users and prevents new UK consumers registering for an account following the issuance of proceedings by the FCA, although the FCA has no assurance that the changes will be permanent and remains concerned that there will be ongoing breaches. HTX has been added to the FCA's Warning List, and the FCA has been liaising with social media companies to block HTX's social media accounts to UK-based consumers and has requested its apps be removed from the UK Google Play and Apple app stores in the UK.
Information on the proceedings is available on the FCA website.
Our comments
Overall, the proceedings highlight the FCA's willingness to bring enforcement action against cryptoasset firms providing services to UK consumers. However, given that HTX is an overseas firm, it is unlikely that the FCA will be able to enforce any ruling against it. Nevertheless, the FCA will view the action as serving a useful purpose.
Firstly, the proceedings raise consumer awareness. The publicity surrounding enforcement action of this nature assists in alerting UK consumers to the risks associated with using unregistered or non-compliant cryptoasset platforms, thereby supporting the FCA's consumer protection objective and encouraging consumers to verify whether firms appear on the FCA's Warning List before engaging with their services.
Secondly, the action serves as a significant deterrent to other overseas cryptoasset firms that may be considering offering services to UK consumers without complying with the financial promotions regime under FSMA. By demonstrating its willingness to pursue enforcement proceedings even where practical enforcement of any resulting order may be challenging, the FCA sends a clear signal that non-compliance will not be overlooked simply because a firm is domiciled outside the UK.
Finally, having a court judgment against the firm enhances the FCA's ability to work with third-party intermediaries, including social media platforms, app store providers, and payment service providers, to restrict the reach of non-compliant firms. The existence of a court decision strengthens the FCA's position when requesting that such intermediaries take steps to limit access to the offending firm's services within the UK.