Key facts
- Binance will halt transactions with HTX and 10 other crypto platforms starting August 23 due to regulatory developments.
- Bitget is also restricting transactions with HTX, EXMO, and 14 other entities in three staggered phases.
- The restrictions are linked to US sanctions against entities facilitating Iranian sanctions evasion and EU sanctions targeting Russia.
- HTX disputes the sanctions, claiming they apply to a separate legal entity and do not affect its online operations or user funds.
- Binance and Bitget's parallel actions suggest a coordinated industry response to regulatory compliance demands.
Binance and Bitget are implementing restrictions on transactions involving HTX (formerly Huobi Global SA), EXMO, and several other crypto platforms, citing regulatory developments and enhanced compliance controls. Binance will cease processing transactions with 11 platforms from August 23, while Bitget is applying staggered restrictions across three waves, with the largest group of 16 entities, including HTX and EXMO, also effective August 23.
The regulatory actions stem from US sanctions imposed on August 7 against Shelbit and Aban Tether for alleged links to Iranian sanctions evasion. A subsequent wave of restrictions, particularly impacting HTX and EXMO, is driven by the EU's 21st Russia sanctions package adopted in July 2026, which named HTX under its legal entity Huobi Global SA. The UK government also designated Huobi Global SA in May, asserting that sanctions extend to the HTX exchange, a claim HTX disputes.
HTX has contested the scope of these sanctions, with Justin Sun stating that Binance's restrictions primarily affect UK and EU users and that HTX does not operate in those regions. The exchange is reportedly in settlement talks with UK and EU regulators. The parallel actions by major exchanges like Binance and Bitget suggest a coordinated industry response to increased compliance demands from Western regulators.