Binance said Friday it will cut off transactions involving 16 crypto exchanges, HTX among them, citing European Union sanctions tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Eleven of the 16 were newly named in Binance’s announcement. Five were already blocked earlier this month: Shelbit, Aban Tether Exchange, A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, and PilotFinance Ltd., according to The Block. The remaining 11 take effect Aug. 23. That list: Rapira, Aifory Pro, ABCeX, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto, Tradex, Monease, BitPapa, Exnode (Exnode Pay), HTX, and EXMO Ltd.
The EU sanctions are the driver. HTX was sanctioned in July for allegedly helping Russia circumvent restrictions, in part by providing financial services to A7 Limited Liability Company, a Russia-linked cross-border payments firm. That firm appears connected to two exchanges Binance had already cut off, A7 Nigeria and A7 Africa. Nearly every newly blocked firm, Shelbit and Aban aside, was also named in the EU’s updated sanctions list, which accuses the entities of “frustrating” restrictions tied to the invasion of Ukraine, The Block reported, citing the Official Journal listing.
Shelbit and Aban sit on a separate track. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned both over alleged Iran-linked money laundering and sanctions evasion, distinct from the EU Russia package.
The practical effect is significant. After Aug. 23, any transaction touching one of the 16 named entities will trigger a compliance review that could result in wallet restrictions, Binance said. “Binance is required to adhere to the regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions in which it operates,” the exchange wrote. “These measures are necessary to meet those requirements and to help maintain a safe and secure environment for our users and their assets.”
The EU is not the only jurisdiction moving against HTX. The UK sanctioned the exchange, formally Huobi Global S.A., in May 2026 for alleged connections to Russia and for publishing unlawful financial promotions. UK regulators cited “reasonable grounds to suspect” HTX supported Russia’s government by providing financial services to A7 LLC and Garantex Europe OU, Cointelegraph reported. TRM Labs claims HTX had been rotating hot wallets and funding addresses to evade the UK restrictions.
HTX disputes the reach of those sanctions. The exchange argued the UK designation applies only to Huobi Global S.A. as a separate legal entity and said its online exchange and user funds remain unaffected. The UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation disagreed, stating it considers the HTX exchange itself subject to the sanctions because it is owned by Huobi Global. The rebrand from Huobi came after TRON founder Justin Sun acquired a major stake in 2022.
Sun took to X on Friday to contain the fallout. “This matter concerns only Binance’s UK and EU users,” he wrote. “HTX does not conduct business in the UK or EU, and settlement negotiations with UK and EU regulators are already in progress.”
Binance’s announcement does not say whether its enforcement is limited to UK and EU users. What those settlement negotiations cover, and whether other major exchanges will follow Binance in cutting off the same 11 entities, remains unclear.
