Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

FCA v HTX: High Court action over cross-border cryptoasset financial promotions under FSMA 2000 s 21 and implications for the 2027 UK regulatory perimeter

Published on: 10 March 2026

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

This piece explores how the FCA’s enforcement against HTX (the first action of its type) highlights the difficulty of policing a borderless cryptoasset sector from a single national base. It also signals how the FCA may scale its approach once cryptoassets sit fully inside the regulatory perimeter in 2027.

Background

HTX, known as Huobi until 2023, is a cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2013. Initially aligned with Chinese users, it shifted focus to worldwide markets, including the UK, after domestic rules tightened.

In the UK, oversight of cryptoassets has progressed at a measured pace compared with other jurisdictions, which range from unrestrained openness to comprehensive prohibitions. Beyond an early move in January 2021 banning retail sales of crypto-derivatives, the first significant stride arrived in April 2022: all cryptoasset service providers operating in the UK had to register with the FCA under the Money Laundering, Terrorist and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/692 (MLRs 2017). Through registration, firms were required to show the FCA that they were achieving the...

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