UK FCA Steps Up Crypto Promotion Enforcement With HTX Ban

The move highlights how the FCA is using its financial promotions regime as a primary enforcement tool while broader UK crypto legislation remains under development. The FCA said in a statement on 10 Feb that Seychelles-headquartered HTX, formerly Huobi, continued to issue unlawful financial promotions to UK users through its website and social media platforms despite prior warnings. 

Unlawful promotions and legal action

The FCA said firms marketing crypto products to UK consumers must comply with strict rules requiring promotions to be fair, clear and not misleading. Breaches of the regime, which came into force in October 2023, constitute a criminal offence.

According to the regulator, HTX continued to publish financial promotions aimed at UK users on platforms including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The FCA said it had previously warned the exchange operator, but that the firm failed to bring its marketing into compliance.

It also raised concerns over HTX’s organizational structure, saying the exchange obscures the identity of its owners and website operators. The FCA said repeated attempts to engage with the firm were ignored.

After the FCA initiated proceedings, HTX restricted new UK customer registrations. However, the regulator said existing UK users can still access unlawful promotions and that HTX has not confirmed whether the restrictions will remain in place.

To limit consumer exposure, the FCA requested social media companies block HTX content for UK users and asked Google and Apple to remove HTX apps from their UK app stores.

Crackdown on loose advertising

The enforcement action comes weeks after the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned a series of Coinbase adverts that suggested cryptocurrency could help ease cost-of-living pressures. The ASA said the adverts trivialized investment risks and implied that crypto offered solutions to economic hardship.

While the Coinbase case was handled by the advertising regulator rather than the FCA, it highlighted growing regulatory sensitivity around how crypto products are marketed to retail consumers in the UK.

The FCA said most crypto firms have engaged constructively since the promotions regime took effect. Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said HTX’s conduct contrasted with the majority of firms seeking to comply.

The action takes place as the UK government works toward a comprehensive crypto framework that would bring digital assets under the FCA’s full supervisory remit. The Treasury has indicated that the wider regime is unlikely to come into force before October 2027.

Until then, the FCA has signalled it will continue to rely on marketing enforcement, platform takedowns and legal action to police crypto activity directed at UK consumers.