HTX Leaves the UK After FCA Deal, Customers Still Can’t Easily Withdraw Funds
British customers may still get stuck trying to withdraw, while the FCA case shows how tough London is on foreign exchanges and crypto promotion.
Key Takeaways
- HTX has left the United Kingdom after a deal with the FCA. British customers can no longer make deposits, and new users can no longer sign up.
- Withdrawals remain a problem, because the FCA points customers to the website while sanctions against HTX and Huobi Global S.A. make execution difficult.
- The settlement ends a lawsuit over British crypto advertising and highlights the UK’s tougher approach to exchanges, oversight, and sanctions.
HTX, Justin Sun’s crypto exchange, has left the United Kingdom after a deal with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). British customers can no longer deposit money, and new users can no longer sign up. For existing accounts, one question remains: how can customers safely get their money off an exchange that is already under sanctions from the UK government?
Withdrawals Remain Difficult
According to the FCA, HTX, formerly Huobi, is directing remaining British customers to its own website to withdraw their remaining assets. That sounds simple, but in practice that route runs into the sanctions London previously imposed on Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-based company behind HTX. The UK Treasury later said the exchange itself is also covered by those sanctions.
The regulator has not given a public explanation of how customer withdrawals are supposed to work within those sanctions. In August, BeInCrypto already reported on a British user who said his account had been frozen while waiting for approval under the sanctions rules. That shows HTX’s exit from the UK does not automatically mean all the practical problems for customers have been solved.
Case Over British Advertising
The deal brings an end to a lawsuit that began in October 2025. It was the FCA’s first High Court case against a foreign crypto company over British marketing. The filing said HTX received 4.6 million visits from the UK in 2023.
Under the October 27 settlement, HTX agreed not to knowingly promote crypto to British consumers. The FCA said foreign firms should not assume they are outside the reach of UK law. HTX, for its part, said it takes local rules seriously and has already taken steps to comply with British financial promotion rules.
What This Means for British Crypto
For European crypto readers, this is especially relevant because it shows how strict the UK’s approach to crypto exchanges has become. The UK is moving toward a broader licensing regime starting in October 2027, while the rules for crypto ads and anti-money laundering checks already apply much earlier. For offshore exchanges, that means access to the British market is not just a marketing issue, but also a matter of oversight, sanctions, and customer withdrawals.
The HTX case also comes at a time when other major exchanges are tightening their policies around British sanctions as well. That makes the question less theoretical for users: it is not just about access to a platform, but also about what happens if an exchange suddenly falls under a sanctions regime.
The pressure on British money flows also shows how sensitive the market in the UK has become. More than 10,000 complaints about blocked or limited crypto transfers underline that access to crypto in the United Kingdom is increasingly running into stricter checks from banks and regulators.
