Bybit warns users over transfers with UK-sanctioned HTX

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has informed clients that transactions involving addresses linked to HTX may be subject to additional checks.

The warning comes after its rival was targeted in fresh U.K. restrictions on crypto services allegedly helping Russia with sanctions evasion.

U.K. sanctions push Bybit to check HTX-related flows

Dubai-based Bybit, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, has told users that transfers to and from addresses linked to HTX may be subject to increased scrutiny.

The main reason for its warning is the sanctioning of the Panama-incorporated entity operating its competitor, Huobi Global, by the British government this week.

Transactions involving HTX addresses may trigger additional anti-money laundering, compliance, or risk-control checks, the coin trading platform announced on social media.

Bybit called on customers to avoid using such wallets and urged them to make sure that all their account-related activities remain compliant with its policies and local laws.

Thus, users making HTX transactions subject to stricter AML control may be asked to provide documents confirming the origin of the funds and showing previous transaction history.

Certain functions, including withdrawals, may be blocked until the provided information is verified by Bybit, the Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media noted in a report on Thursday.

Important Notice Regarding Deposits and Withdrawals Related to HTX

In light of the latest regulatory actions concerning HTX, transfers to or from HTX-linked addresses may trigger additional AML, compliance, or risk-control checks.

Users are advised to avoid using HTX-related…

— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) May 27, 2026

What causes Bybit’s caution regarding HTX?

The entity behind HTX, also one of the largest crypto exchanges globally, was among those affected by London’s new restrictions against digital-asset platforms utilized by Russian players.

The measures announced Tuesday targeted 18 individuals and organizations as part of an ongoing effort to dismantle financial systems and crypto networks utilized by Moscow.

The blacklist includes the Russia-rooted, Kyrgyzstan-registered payment system A7, the alleged creator of the Ruble-pegged A7A5, which is the largest non-dollar stablecoin.

Among the designated crypto services were also Exmo and Bitpapa, along with several other providers, including the Georgia-based Rapira, Arvix, and Aifory.

According to the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office, HTX facilitated the activities of A7 and the now-defunct Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.

The latter was shut down in a U.S.-led operation in March 2025 and succeeded by a Kyrgyz crypto trading platform called Grinex.

British authorities claim that HTX transferred over $1.5 billion to Russia in circumvention of sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, including through other sanctioned exchanges and linked to A7A5 transactions.

According to an on-chain analysis of its activities outside the scope of the U.K. tracking of Russian flows, HTX moved over $21 billion in risky funds over the past five years, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

Representatives of HTX have claimed that Huobi Global is not involved the platform’s operations and that the sanctions affect only the legal entity, not the exchange.

At the same time, they acknowledged that the issuer of A7A5 had reached out to list the stablecoin on HTX but got turned down following a review of its application.

The token is currently issued by the Kyrgyz-registered entity Old Vector, also sanctioned by Western governments. Its team maintains the project is now independent.

Its CEO Oleg Ogienko confirmed that attempts were made to list the token on HTX and other major exchanges and that those were rejected due to concerns over sanctions.

The issuer of A7A5, which processed over $100 billion worth of transactions in less than a year after launch, maintains that the coin complies with Russian and Kyrgyz laws as well as the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Russia-linked crypto platforms and other digital currencies pegged to the Russian ruble besides A7A5, such as RUBx and the state-issued digital ruble, were recently hit in the EU’s 20th package of sanctions on the Russian Federation.

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