HTX Bans Russian Users, Adds Russia to Restricted Jurisdictions List

Published October 24, 2026, 07:20 AM PKT. Based on HTX's Platform User Agreement (primary source), and reporting by CoinLab, Elliptic and WuBlockchain via CryptoPanic citing RBC on October 23, 2026 (secondary sources).

Crypto exchange HTX, formerly Huobi, has added the Russian Federation to the list of jurisdictions whose users are prohibited from using all of its services, according to the exchange's own Platform User Agreement. Russian clients began receiving notices about the restriction on October 23, 2026, according to Russian outlets Prime and Bits.media, and reports say affected users have seven business days to withdraw funds before the exchange may restrict withdrawals and block accounts. The move makes HTX the third major exchange in a week to restrict clients from Russia, after Bitget and MEXC, according to CoinLab, and it lands two months after the European Union imposed a transaction ban on HTX itself under its Russia sanctions package.

The clause: Russia joins the all-services ban list

The change sits in clause 1.2 of the agreement, headed "Restricted Jurisdictions." The clause states, in capital letters, that users from the listed jurisdictions "are prohibited from using all services," and the list now includes "the Russian Federation" alongside mainland China, the United States, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Hong Kong China, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Myanmar, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sevastopol and all member states of the European Union. The agreement defines a user as being "from" a jurisdiction if the user is an individual resident in or physically located there, or an entity incorporated under its laws or with its principal place of business there. The document is marked "Last updated on [2026-09]," and HashTelegraph reported that the change was made on September 19 and only drew media attention now, a timeline CoinLab also reports. The agreement itself warns that the list "may change from time to time" and that HTX "may not provide notice" of changes, telling users to check the latest version on the platform.

The seven-business-day withdrawal window

The most urgent detail for affected users does not come from the agreement text itself, and this article keeps that distinction clear. According to Bits.media and Cointelegraph Russia, as reported by CoinLab, Russian clients were told they have seven business days to withdraw funds, after which the exchange may restrict withdrawals and block accounts. CoinLab reports that HTX has not published a separate announcement with exact deadlines, so affected users should check their account notices and ask support for their own deadline rather than relying on a single reported window. The agreement does give HTX the tools to enforce a cutoff: clause 4.4 reserves the right to limit or suspend services, freeze or restrict withdrawals or transfers, and terminate or close an account where a user is from a restricted jurisdiction. What the public record does not yet show is whether every Russian client received the same notice, or what happens to funds left behind after the window closes beyond those clause 4.4 powers.

The sanctions backdrop: EU and UK designations

The restriction did not arrive in a vacuum. The Council of the European Union adopted its 21st package of sanctions against Russia on July 23, 2026, and the package designated 14 entities providing cryptoasset related services, according to Elliptic. Transaction bans against 11 named cryptoasset platforms, including HTX under the name HUOBI GLOBAL SA, took effect on August 23, 2026, according to Elliptic. The United Kingdom had already sanctioned Huobi Global S.A. in May, according to CoinLab, and HTX rejected the UK allegations, saying it does not deal with the A7A5 token. The commercial stakes are large: Datawallet's country guide notes that Russia supplied the exchange's largest share of web traffic through most of 2026, so the ban cuts off what had been a core user base, not a marginal market.

The third exit in a week: Bitget and MEXC

HTX is following a pattern that accelerated this month. MABOnChain reported on October 18 that Bitget updated its terms on October 16 to name Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan as prohibited jurisdictions, and to ban 20 sanctioned platforms. CoinLab reports that MEXC took a similar step in the same week, making HTX the third major exchange to restrict Russian clients. The sequence matters because it narrows, exchange by exchange, the venues available to users in Russia and the wider region, and it raises the practical stakes of moving funds early: each new restriction leaves fewer large, liquid alternatives for users who need to exit.

What is still unclear

Three questions remain open. First, the exact per-account deadline: with no separate HTX announcement published, the seven-business-day window rests on reports from Bits.media and Cointelegraph Russia, not on a dated HTX notice, and individual notices may differ. Second, HTX has not, in the reporting reviewed, explained why the September agreement change surfaced through client notices in late October rather than through a public announcement. Third, nothing in the reporting reviewed suggests a wider HTX shutdown or a change to services for users outside the restricted list; the change is specific to the jurisdictions in clause 1.2. Until HTX publishes its own statement, the verified core of this story is the agreement text itself, and the reported withdrawal window should be treated as a deadline to check against an individual account notice, not as a guarantee.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• HTX, HTX Platform User Agreement, clause 1.2 (Restricted Jurisdictions) and clause 4.4 (last updated September 2026), primary source
• CoinLab, HTX Adds Russia to Its List of Prohibited Jurisdictions (October 23, 2026), secondary source
• Elliptic, The EU's 21st sanctions package creates a third country ban for cryptoassets, secondary source
• WuBlockchain via CryptoPanic, HTX Adds Russia to List of Restricted Jurisdictions, Following Bitget and MEXC (October 24, 2026), citing RBC, secondary source