EU Sanctions Largest Crypto Exchange HTX Over Russian Ties

The European Union has added HTX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, to its sanctions list against Russia. This move comes after similar sanctions were imposed by the UK in May.

HTX was founded in China in 2013 and previously operated under the Huobi brand. In 2022, Hong Kong entrepreneur Justin Sun acquired a controlling stake in the company, who also serves as an advisor to HTX.

The EU sanctions do not entail a complete shutdown of the exchange or freezing of its assets but significantly increase pressure on HTX. Analysts note that after the UK sanctions, HTX changed its technical infrastructure to ensure continuous operation, including rotating cryptocurrency wallets to evade traditional sanctions lists.