The HTX EU sanctions package, adopted on 23 July 2026, places Huobi Global S.A. among 14 crypto-related platforms subject to transaction restrictions over alleged assistance in Russian sanctions evasion, adding a second major Western designation to an exchange already hit by the UK in May.
The measures, part of the EU’s 21st Russia sanctions package, do not impose an asset freeze on HTX. Instead, the exchange faces transaction controls effective 23 August 2026, one month after adoption, according to VASPnet.
Fourteen Platforms Named, HTX Among the Largest
The Compliance Corylated breakdown of the package lists the 14 targeted crypto-related services as: Rapira; Aifory Pro (Sooty Ltd); ABCeX (Nueva Cryptologia SAS DE CV); WhiteBird; NoOnecrypto INC; Tradex (Brightum LLC); Monease Ltd; Bitpapa; Exnode and Exnode Pay (Arvix); HTX (Huobi Global SA); EXMO Ltd; A7 Nigeria; A7 Africa; and Pilot Finance Ltd. The services operate across Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.
The headline figure of 18 companies cited by Reuters reflects how the EU counts distinct legal entities, some of which share a platform. The Council’s own figure is 14 services.
EXMO Exchange Limited, designated alongside HTX by UK authorities on 26 May 2026, has taken a different path: EXMO subsequently announced it is closing operations, while HTX has continued trading.
HTX EU Sanctions Follow a $1.5 Billion Flow Allegation
Chainalysis estimated that the A7 network, which sits at the centre of the UK designations, claimed to have moved $90 billion into Russia’s economy last year using crypto, a figure the firm described as exceeding half of Russia’s annual military budget. Chainalysis further assessed that HTX is suspected of channelling over $1.5 billion to Russia through flows from previously sanctioned entities including Grinex and Garantex.
TRM Labs blockchain data showed HTX as a persistent counterparty to nearly every entity in the UK’s May package, with the pattern of that activity shifting materially after Garantex’s March 2025 takedown.
The UK’s 26 May designation of Huobi Global S.A. was also the first time the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 had been used against a crypto exchange. British restrictions included an asset freeze and barred UK firms from processing payments for or maintaining financial relationships with the designated entities. HTX’s UK government designation grouped it alongside Nueva Cryptologia S.A.S. DE C.V. and individual Liran Cohen under entities facilitating funds or economic resources to the Russian financial sector.
An HTX spokesperson told Reuters: ‘Regulatory compliance remains our absolute top priority at HTX. We proactively monitor and strictly adhere to regulatory frameworks in all jurisdictions where we operate globally, including the UK.’ The exchange has issued no public response to the EU restrictions.
HTX had previously drawn enforcement attention from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority over illegal financial promotions, before the Russia-related designation.
New Third-Country Ban Mechanism Established But Not Yet Deployed
The 21st package introduces, for the first time, a legal basis allowing the EU to prohibit dealings with crypto-asset service providers in third countries when those jurisdictions are found to be facilitating Russian sanctions evasion. According to Curtis Mallet-Prevost, no third country has been listed under this mechanism as part of the 21st package; the tool is established but not yet triggered.
Banking measures in the same package expand asset freezes to 94 Russian banks and extend transaction bans to 33 additional Russian credit and financial institutions, bringing the total subject to some form of ban to over 100. The package also restricts access to financial messaging services, directly targeting Russia’s capacity to route funds internationally, as Harneys noted.
The package contains 218 individual listings in total: 48 people and 170 entities. The Council described it as the EU’s largest batch of new listings in four years.
Belarus Ownership of MiCA Firms Restricted From August
A separate provision, running through Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/1847, prohibits Belarusian nationals and residents from owning, controlling or managing crypto-asset service providers regulated under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, with that restriction applying from 25 August 2026. The decision entered into force on 24 July.
Prior restrictions focused on wallets, accounts and custody services. The expanded rules cover every MiCA service category: operating trading platforms, exchanging crypto assets, executing client orders, processing transfers, placing tokens, providing investment advice and managing portfolios. The timing sits one month after MiCA’s transition window closed on 1 July, leaving no gap for non-compliant operators to exploit.
With the transaction ban clock running to 23 August, HTX’s next material disclosure will be whether it restructures the jurisdictional footprint of Huobi Global S.A. or contests the designation through EU legal channels.
