The European Union imposes sanctions on Justin Sun’s HTX company in Russia, two months after the UK

The European Union has added HTX, the cryptocurrency exchange owned and advised by billionaire founder Justin Sun, to its latest round of sanctions on Russia.

The stock exchange was arrested in the European Union Twenty-first sanctions packagewhich was approved on Thursday, and which the EU called the largest set of single listings in four years, at 218. HTX appears under its operator, Huobi Global SA, in an addendum to cryptocurrencies and financial companies that the EU has indicted. ‘Very disappointing’ Its Russian measures.

From August 23, people in the European Union will be banned from dealing with the exchange, although the listing does not freeze its assets or amount to a full classification. HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wider crypto network

The package sharply expanded the block’s cryptocurrency procedures. It expanded the European Union’s transaction ban to include 14 cryptocurrency-related service platforms based in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, and added four designations linked to the cross-border “A7” network, indicating its new links to Africa.

For the first time, the EU has also raised the possibility of a complete ban on third-country cryptocurrency services, positioning this as a deterrent to jurisdictions that host platforms that help Moscow evade restrictions. “We are hitting more than a hundred banks and cryptocurrency operators,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement, adding that “with each round of sanctions, we put pressure on Russia’s economy and its ability to prolong its illegal war.”

HTX, formerly known as Huobi and founded in China in 2013, is one of the largest exchanges in the world, reports… More than 3 trillion dollars in trading volume in 2025 The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on it In May – the first time Britain has applied this measure to an exchange of this size –Mark it On suspicion of transferring more than $1.5 billion to the Kremlin and accused of serving A7whose stable currency is pegged to the ruble A7A5 Experts say Moscow is used to transfer money.

HTX pushes back

The EU listing comes two days after the blockchain intelligence firm TRM Laboratories said HTX has “rebuilt the on-chain plumbing” since the UK action, spinning up hot wallets across TRON, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Solana fast enough that address checking “can’t keep up with the pace.” At the time, TRM noted that Washington and Brussels had not designated the exchange – a gap the bloc has now partially closed.

HTX has rejected these accusations. He said Decryption Wallet activity reflects “routine, security-based platform operations.” Following the UK action, HTX claimed that Huobi Global SA, was “distinct from the HTX online exchange”, with users’ funds safe and operations unaffected – despite the UK’s Financial Sanctions Enforcement Office. Confirm Huobi’s ownership of HTX makes the exchange subject to its own sanctions regime.

Sun, whose fraud case was in the United States It was settled by the Securities and Exchange Commission this year for $10 million, and was once a prominent backer of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial before that relationship Coagulated in dueling lawsuits. Currently, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has not yet acted against HTX, leaving enforcement uneven across jurisdictions.