Is HTX Safe?
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- Best for Deep liquidity
- Best for Altcoin selection
- Best for Perpetual futures
- Best for APAC & LATAM
- Min deposit
- $0
- Spread from
- 0.20% / 0.20%
- Max leverage
- 1:200
- Regulation
- Lithuania VASP · Dubai VARA (provisional)
Quick answer
HTX is a real, long-running exchange, but not the safest place to store your coins. It holds only minor licences (Lithuania, Dubai, the British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar) and none of the major Western ones. The UK sanctioned its operating company in May 2026. On the plus side, it has proven its full reserves every month for over three years. Use it for active trading, not long-term storage.
Is HTX safe and regulated?
Founded in 2013 as Huobi and rebranded to HTX in 2023, this exchange holds top-10 global liquidity and a 12-year operating track record. Whether it is safe depends on what you plan to do.
I opened a live funded account and tested withdrawals, support and the KYC (Know Your Customer, identity verification) process in 2026.
The regulatory picture:
- Lithuania VASP: registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider, routes EEA (European Economic Area) operations under the pre-MiCA (EU crypto-asset regulatory framework)
- Dubai VARA (Dubai’s virtual-asset regulator): Initial Approval stage only, a provisional status, not a full operational licence
- British Virgin Islands SIBA (Securities and Investment Business Act): custodian and investment-exchange operator licence
- Gibraltar DLT: 2018 Distributed Ledger Technology licence used for institutional and OTC (over-the-counter, meaning direct off-exchange trades) flow
⚠️ Three facts cut against that list. First, the Seychelles Financial Services Authority published a public alert confirming HTX holds no Seychelles VASP licence, despite operating from that jurisdiction.
Second, in May 2026 the UK designated Huobi Global S.A., the HTX operating entity, under Russia sanctions. Third, the platform is controlled by Justin Sun, the TRON (a public blockchain) founder, who faced US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) fraud charges in 2023.
The counterweight is transparency. HTX has published proof of reserves (independent monthly audits verifying the exchange holds 100% or more of all client funds) every month for 43 consecutive months, with reserve ratios above 100% on BTC, ETH and USDT.
That means the exchange holds more assets than it owes clients, and each monthly report is publicly verifiable.
In my testing, USDT TRC-20 (Tron blockchain token standard) withdrawals confirmed in 3-7 minutes at a 1 USDT fee across five cycles.
The honest answer: HTX is not a scam, and it is not safe as a place to store savings. It is a legitimate exchange you trade on with position-sizing discipline.
Read the full HTX review for the 6.2/10 score, fee breakdown and complete test results.
Key facts
| Detail | HTX |
|---|---|
| Regulation | Lithuania VASP, Dubai VARA (provisional), BVI SIBA, Gibraltar DLT |
| License | Lithuania FNTT (Financial Crime Investigation Service) register, VARA Initial Approval, BVI FSC (Financial Services Commission), Gibraltar GFSC (Gibraltar Financial Services Commission) |
| Deposit protection | None (no FSCS (UK compensation scheme, up to £85,000), ICF (EU compensation fund, up to €20,000) or equivalent) |
| Founded | 2013 (as Huobi; rebranded HTX in September 2023) |
| Headquarters | Victoria, Seychelles |
Should you trade with HTX?
Founded 12 years ago with 47 million users, HTX suits active spot (buying and selling at current market prices) and perpetual-futures (crypto contracts with no expiry date) traders in the EU, LATAM (Latin America), GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) who want deep altcoin liquidity. Its 0.02% perpetual maker fee (maker fees are charged when your limit order adds liquidity to the order book) is competitive, and the 700-coin catalogue is broader than most offshore peers.
The main caveat: US and UK residents cannot use it at all. For everyone else, keep only active trading capital here, use TRC-20 stablecoin (a cryptocurrency pegged to a stable currency like the US dollar) rails rather than fiat channels, and hold long-term positions on a venue such as Kraken or Coinbase.
Two concrete steps before opening an account: confirm your country is on the accepted list, and decide in advance the maximum balance you will leave on the platform. A full country-by-country breakdown is in the HTX review.
For a broader comparison of regulated alternatives, see our guide to the best crypto exchanges.
Frequently asked questions
Which HTX entity will hold my account?
Your account sits under Huobi Global S.A., the Seychelles-incorporated operating entity. That is the same entity the UK sanctioned in May 2026. EEA (European Economic Area) residents may route through the Lithuanian VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) entity; UAE residents through the Dubai VARA entity (VARA is Dubai's virtual-asset regulator, and HTX holds only provisional status there). The Lithuanian route carries a real regulator registration under the pre-MiCA (EU crypto-asset regulatory framework). The Seychelles entity offers no depositor protection scheme.
Does HTX protect client funds?
HTX holds client funds in segregated accounts (your money is kept separate from the company's own funds and cannot be used to pay HTX's business expenses). It also publishes proof of reserves (independent monthly audits that verify the exchange holds 100% or more of all client funds), with reserve ratios above 100% across 43 consecutive reports. No compensation scheme applies: there is no FSCS (the UK scheme that covers up to £85,000 per person) or ICF (the EU equivalent covering up to €20,000). If HTX fails, there is no statutory backstop. The exchange did reimburse roughly $30 million in client losses from its 2023 hack.
Is HTX a scam?
No. HTX is a legitimate exchange founded in 2013 as Huobi, with 47 million registered users and a 12-year operating history. The genuine risks are different: a thin licensing stack, a UK sanctions designation on its operating entity, and governance tied to Justin Sun, who faced US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) fraud charges in 2023. Those are compliance concerns, not scam signals.
What is the minimum deposit for HTX?
There is no minimum for crypto deposits: the network floor applies. Fiat card deposits via third-party processors start around $10-$20, with a 2-4% spread. The no-KYC (Know Your Customer, identity verification) entry tier allows trading after email signup with deposits up to roughly $1,000. In my testing, USDT TRC-20 (Tron blockchain token standard) withdrawals confirmed in 3-7 minutes at a 1 USDT fee.
Is HTX available in the UK or USA?
No. HTX blocks US signups and holds no FinCEN (US federal financial-crimes regulator) registration. The UK designated the operating entity under Russia sanctions in May 2026: British individuals must exit the platform immediately and report exposure to OFSI (the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation). US residents should use Coinbase, Kraken or Gemini. UK residents should use Coinbase UK, Kraken or eToro, all of which are authorised by the FCA (the UK's financial regulator).