FCA and HTX in talks over UK crypto marketing breaches

The Financial Conduct Authority and crypto exchange HTX are negotiating a settlement after the regulator opened a probe into marketing activity that may have reached UK residents without proper authorisation.

The FCA is examining whether HTX promoted crypto services to UK consumers in breach of the country’s financial promotion rules. Under that regime, communications about regulated investments must be approved by an authorised firm or fall under a statutory exemption. Whether crypto firms fall within the rules depends on the nature of the assets and services being promoted.

Regulators launched the inquiry after identifying marketing material that could have targeted UK retail customers. The talks aim to resolve the regulator’s concerns without formal enforcement action and to set out any remedial steps HTX would need to take.

Settlement discussions commonly consider measures such as stopping specific promotions in the UK, formal undertakings to strengthen controls, consumer redress where unauthorised sales took place, and potential financial penalties. The timetable for the negotiations has not been disclosed.

HTX, which rebranded from Huobi, has not provided details of the talks publicly. The FCA has not published a statement on the negotiations. It is common for firms and regulators to withhold comment while settlement talks are ongoing.

The negotiations form part of the FCA’s wider scrutiny of crypto firms offering services to retail customers. In recent years the regulator has increased compliance checks and taken enforcement action against firms it considers to be operating without the required permissions.

Any agreement reached could require HTX to change how it markets in the UK and to take specific steps to prevent further unauthorised promotions. The FCA retains the authority to open formal enforcement proceedings if it finds breaches of the financial promotion framework.