EU adds crypto exchange HTX to sanctions package tied to Russia restrictions

Sanctions package expands

In a decision announced Thursday, the European Council amended earlier measures adopted “in view of Russia’s actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.” The update includes HTX, formerly Huobi Global, in a list of 18 entities established outside the European Union.

According to the Council, those entities provide crypto-asset or payment services in ways that “significantly frustrate the purpose of the prohibitions” imposed on Russia. The move means transactions between EU operators and the listed institutions or entities are prohibited under the revised measures.

Why the EU acted

EU officials said the bloc has repeatedly moved to identify financial institutions, credit institutions and service providers in crypto-assets or payments that help preserve what it described as a financial lifeline for Russia’s war effort. In the Council’s explanation, that can include connecting to the System for Transfer of Financial Messages of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation or enabling the circumvention of EU restrictive measures.

Russia has remained under wide-ranging sanctions since its 2022 military invasion of Ukraine, and the latest step is part of the EU’s continuing effort to tighten enforcement against channels it believes may weaken those restrictions.

HTX named among non-EU entities

The EU’s action specifically places HTX on the list of 18 non-EU entities covered by the package. The source material does not state whether HTX responded directly to the sanctions announcement, but it notes that the exchange previously told Cointelegraph that regulatory compliance remains its “absolute top priority” and that it would “proactively monitor and strictly adhere to regulatory frameworks in all jurisdictions.”

HTX is the current name of the exchange formerly known as Huobi Global.

Related Belarus measure

The sanctions package was announced the same day EU officials said Belarusian nationals and residents would be barred from owning, controlling or managing crypto exchanges and digital asset service providers operating under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, framework.

That measure broadens the package beyond the listing of specific non-EU entities and signals that EU policymakers are also focusing on who can control crypto businesses subject to the bloc’s digital-asset rules.

The decision adds to the growing intersection between sanctions enforcement and crypto regulation in Europe. In this case, the EU framed its action as part of a broader effort to stop payment and digital-asset channels from being used to blunt restrictions tied to the war in Ukraine, while also tightening rules affecting Belarusian involvement in MiCA-regulated firms.