The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it is suing cryptocurrency exchange HTX for illegally promoting digital asset services in the country.
The FCA launched legal proceedings against the exchange formerly known as Huobi at the High Court in London, according to an emailed statement on Thursday.
The financial regulator had already issued warnings since 2023 that the exchange, which was bought by Tron founder Justin Sun in 2022, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, could be promoting financial services without its permission. Sun was not mentioned in the statement.
At the time, the FCA said consumers should avoid dealing with Huobi as it was not authorized to promote financial services in the UK.
“This action is part of our commitment to protecting consumers and upholding the integrity of the UK’s financial markets,” an FCA spokesperson said in the statement. “We have seen cryptocurrency companies react positively to our financial promotion rules and regulations; however, where we still see bad practices, we will not hesitate to take action when companies appear to be breaking our rules.”
HTX did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
