UK FCA and HTX negotiate settlement over alleged illegal crypto promotions: Report
The regulator's first-ever court enforcement action against a crypto firm for unauthorized marketing could set a precedent for the industry.
The Financial Conduct Authority and crypto exchange HTX have entered settlement talks over the regulator’s allegations that the company illegally promoted crypto services in Britain, Reuters reported Thursday.
London’s High Court has suspended the FCA’s proceedings until late August to give the parties more time to negotiate.
Britain’s financial regulator sued HTX in London’s High Court in October 2025, accusing the exchange of unlawfully marketing crypto asset services to UK consumers without the required authorization. The lawsuit is the regulator’s first case against a crypto firm over marketing to UK consumers.
The proceedings also targeted Huobi Global, incorporated in Panama, as well as unidentified operators and controllers of HTX. The FCA alleged that HTX promotions appeared across platforms including X, Telegram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.
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The regulator later accused HTX of breaching financial promotion rules covering crypto assets and said the company had failed to engage with authorities and maintained an opaque operational structure.
HTX was added to the FCA’s unauthorized firms list in 2023, while Huobi was added in 2024. The exchange says its services are not intended for UK customers and says it is committed to maintaining high standards of compliance, transparency and user protection.
The two sides began settlement discussions in March and extended them by two months in June, according to the report.