The European Council has added the crypto exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi, to its 21st package of sanctions targeting Russia, but stopped short of imposing an asset freeze that the UK applied months earlier. The announcement came on July 23, when the Council published a list naming 18 companies accused of enabling Moscow to bypass EU restrictions using crypto and payment services.
HTX is singled out for providing channels that facilitate financial flows to Russia, including connections to the Russian central bank’s messaging systems and methods to circumvent existing sanctions. Despite this, the EU’s measures against HTX do not amount to a full designation and do not freeze its assets. Instead, the restrictions primarily block transactions between HTX and entities based in the EU.
Earlier in May, the UK imposed a direct asset freeze on Huobi Global, which is registered in Panama. London described its action as targeting the shadow financial networks supporting Russia’s war efforts. HTX responded by emphasizing compliance with all regulations across jurisdictions where it operates.
The latest EU sanctions package is the largest in four years, listing 218 targets that include 48 individuals and 170 entities. It extends asset freezes or transaction bans to 94 major banks and financial institutions and introduces a new mechanism that allows the EU to prohibit crypto-asset services from entire third countries if their platforms help Russia avoid sanctions.
This development reflects the increasingly focused approach Europe is taking toward crypto platforms involved in sanction evasion, following similar moves by the UK. It also shows growing regulatory pressure on crypto exchanges linked to nations under sanctions, intensifying scrutiny on cross-border digital finance flows.
