EU Adds Crypto Exchange HTX to Russia Sanctions List

The European Union has added cryptocurrency exchange HTX to its sanctions list tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Cointelegraph reported on July 24 that the European Council revised its existing sanctions regime over Russia’s actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine and added 18 entities, including HTX, to a new sanctions list. The entities were classified as firms established outside the EU that provide crypto-asset or payment services that seriously undermine the objectives of sanctions against Russia.

EU authorities said they have continued to identify financial institutions and crypto-asset service providers connected to the Russian central bank’s financial messaging system or enabling evasion of EU sanctions. The bloc has banned all transactions between those entities and EU operators.

The sanctions were imposed the same day the EU announced measures under its Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, rules banning Belarusian nationals and residents from owning, controlling or managing cryptocurrency exchanges and digital-asset service providers. The U.K. government imposed similar sanctions in May, saying there were reasonable grounds to suspect HTX had supported the Russian government by using the financial services and funds of sanctioned entities.