Europe's 21st Sanctions Drop Names HTX, and Justin Sun Can't Huobi-deny It 🪙

The European Union added HTX, the crypto exchange owned and advised by Tron founder Justin Sun, to its 21st sanctions package against Russia on Thursday, listing the platform—under its operator Huobi Global SA—among 18 crypto and financial firms accused of "significantly frustrating" the bloc's measures. The package, which the EU called its largest individual-listing batch in four years at 218 entries, bars EU persons from transacting with HTX from August 23, though it does not freeze the exchange's assets or amount to a full designation.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, "We're hitting over a hundred banks and crypto operators. With each round of sanctions, we squeeze Russia's economy and its capacity to prolong its illegal war." The package extended the EU's transaction ban to 14 crypto-related platforms based in Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus, and added four designations tied to the "A7" cross-border network, citing new links to Africa. It also raised, for the first time, the possibility of imposing a full ban on a third country's crypto services as a deterrent to jurisdictions hosting platforms that help Moscow evade restrictions.

HTX, formerly Huobi and founded in China in 2013, reported more than $3 trillion in trading volume in 2025. The United Kingdom sanctioned the exchange in May, flagging it as suspected of channeling more than $1.5 billion to the Kremlin and accusing it of servicing A7, whose ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 is linked to Russian sanctions evasion. HTX has rejected the accusations, telling Decrypt the wallet activity reflected "routine, security-driven platform operations," and after the UK action claimed that Huobi Global S.A. was "distinct from the online HTX exchange," with user funds safe and operations unaffected—though the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation stressed that Huobi's ownership of HTX makes the exchange subject to the measures.

The EU listing lands two days after blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said HTX had "rebuilt its on-chain plumbing" since the UK action, cycling hot wallets across TRON, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Solana fast enough that address screening "cannot keep pace." TRM noted at the time that neither Washington nor Brussels had designated the exchange—a gap the bloc has now partly closed. HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the EU action.

Separately on Thursday, EU officials said they would prohibit Belarusian nationals and residents from owning, controlling, or managing crypto exchanges and digital asset service providers in line with the region's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework. HTX has previously told Cointelegraph that "regulatory compliance remains [its] absolute top priority" and that it will "proactively monitor and strictly adhere to regulatory frameworks in all jurisdictions."