UK FCA and HTX in settlement talks over illegal crypto promotions

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the HTX (formerly Huobi) exchange have started talks to settle a lawsuit that accuses the Justin Sun-backed platform of illegally marketing crypto to UK consumers, according to court filings on Thursday.

HTX lawsuit first of its kind

The lawsuit that dragged HTX to London’s High Court in October 2025 was something the FCA had never done before. The regulator was suing a crypto firm over how it marketed services to British consumers.

The target of the lawsuit, HTX, known as Huobi until a rebrand, ranks among the largest crypto exchanges in the world. Justin Sun, the Chinese billionaire behind the Tron blockchain and cryptocurrency, took a controlling stake in the exchange in 2022.

The FCA’s suit named Huobi Global, incorporated in Panama, alongside “persons unknown” said to operate and control the exchange.

The regulator outlined its frustrations about the “reach” of global platforms in the lawsuit. These platforms can sit behind tangled corporate structures and still put marketing ads in front of UK users via the internet.

The FCA also claimed HTX ignored repeated attempts to make contact and ran what it called an “opaque operational structure.”

Settlement negotiations continue to extend

The two sides are currently not at loggerheads in court, with the High Court pausing proceedings until late August so they can try to reach a deal, according to the filings.

This pause to proceedings is the latest in quite the slow-moving negotiation. Reuters reports the parties traded emails in March, then went into three months of talks. On June 25, the court records show these talks were further extended by two months.

The FCA and HTX both declined to comment on where the talks stand, and lawyers for HTX did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. HTX’s public position is that it does not serve the UK at all. An undated notice on its website states that its products and services are not meant for UK users.

An HTX spokesperson offered a general statement instead of specifics on the talks when asked about the ongoing legal case. They said HTX “remains dedicated to upholding high standards of compliance, transparency, and user protection and we will continue working collaboratively with the regulators to support the sustainable development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”

The FCA accused HTX of breaking promotion rules

The UK set its crypto promotion rules in October 2023. Firms marketing crypto assets to British consumers have to register with the FCA, clear anti-money-laundering and financial-crime checks, and attach risk warnings and suitability checks to their ads.

In February, the FCA formally accused the exchange of breaching those promotion rules. The regulator secured permission on February 4, 2026, to serve legal papers on the exchange internationally. The FCA has said HTX ads ran on major platforms including X, Telegram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.

The regulator has also tried to stifle HTX’s access outside the courtroom. The exchange was placed on the FCA’s list of unauthorized companies in 2023 and 2024, a warning that leaves users without any protection or a route to recover funds if the platform fails.

The FCA has also reportedly pressed social media firms to pull HTX products from UK app stores and block accounts for UK-based users.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.