Binance has said it will stop processing transactions involving HTX and 10 other listed crypto platforms from Aug. 23 as new sanctions and regulatory restrictions take effect.
Binance said in a Friday announcement that the restrictions will apply to Rapira, Aifory Pro, ABCeX, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto INC., Tradex, Monease Ltd, BitPapa, Exnode, HTX, formerly Huobi, and EXMO. The exchange cited recent regulatory developments for the decision.
Transactions involving any of the affected providers could be held for compliance checks once their respective restrictions take effect. Binance said wallets may also face restrictions while reviews remain in progress.
Users were advised against sending assets directly or indirectly to the listed providers after the cutoff dates, since transactions involving them could trigger further compliance action under Binance’s terms.
The Aug. 23 cutoff covers a group of exchanges and crypto service providers that have recently faced sanctions-related restrictions in Europe, including HTX, EXMO, Rapira, BitPapa and Aifory.
Several of the names overlap with the European Union’s latest sanctions measures against Russia. The bloc adopted its 21st sanctions package on July 23, expanding transaction restrictions against financial institutions and crypto services that officials accused of helping Russia bypass existing sanctions.
As crypto.news previously reported, HTX was included among crypto platforms covered by the EU package, with transaction restrictions scheduled to begin on Aug. 23. The measures also cover EXMO, Rapira, BitPapa, Aifory Pro, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto and Exnode, among other providers.
The EU measure against HTX is structured as a transaction ban rather than an asset freeze. Under the package, EU persons and companies are restricted from carrying out direct or indirect transactions with the covered services once the measure becomes effective.
EU officials said the package extended transaction restrictions to 14 crypto-related service platforms and introduced a mechanism that can be used against providers in third countries when authorities determine that they are helping Russia evade sanctions. The Council also extended transaction bans to 33 additional Russian credit and financial institutions.
The July package included 218 individual and entity listings across areas including financial services, energy and Russia’s military supply chains. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said the measures covered more than 100 banks and crypto operators as well as more than 40 vessels connected to Russia’s shadow fleet.
Before the EU action, the UK government designated Huobi Global S.A. on May 26 as part of sanctions targeting financial and crypto networks accused of helping Russia evade restrictions.
British authorities said they had “reasonable grounds to suspect” that Huobi Global had supported the Russian government by providing financial services or making funds and economic resources available to A7 LLC and Garantex Europe OU. The UK measures included an asset freeze and restrictions on payment processing, correspondent banking, trust services and internet services.
HTX initially disputed the reach of the designation. The exchange argued that Huobi Global S.A. was a separate legal entity and said its online exchange and customer funds were not affected.
In its response at the time, HTX said it was committed to complying with laws in the jurisdictions where it operates and would engage with British authorities over the designation.
The UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation later addressed the issue directly, saying it considers HTX itself subject to UK financial sanctions because the exchange is owned by Huobi Global and therefore meets the ownership condition under the Russia sanctions rules.
That clarification followed HTX’s earlier challenge to the sanctions, when the exchange maintained that the May designation applied only to Huobi Global S.A. British authorities had listed HTX and HTX Exchange among names connected to the designated company.
Blockchain analytics firms have since examined activity linked to the exchange. A Global Ledger analysis cited in May traced more than $7.6 billion in Russia-linked flows through HTX since 2021, while TRM Labs separately identified billions of dollars in direct on-chain transfers between HTX and entities later designated by the UK.
HTX has disputed claims tied to its sanctions exposure and has maintained that it follows regulatory requirements.
Sanctions screening around HTX drew further attention in July after TRM Labs said the exchange had repeatedly changed hot wallets and funding addresses across TRON, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Solana following the UK action.
According to a July TRM Labs report, some addresses remained active for only a few hours before activity moved elsewhere, a pattern the analytics firm said could make static sanctions screening less effective.
TRM global head of policy Ari Redbord said HTX was changing wallets frequently enough that screening systems built around fixed lists could struggle to identify newly active addresses quickly.
HTX rejected that interpretation. A spokesperson said the wallet movements were routine security operations used across the crypto industry and denied that the changes were designed to avoid sanctions screening.
The same sanctions issue had already affected transactions outside HTX. FixedFloat began reviewing or restricting some transfers with historical links to Huobi after the UK measures, raising compliance questions around funds that had passed through an exchange before a sanctions designation took effect.
Binance’s latest notice also lists providers whose restrictions became effective before Aug. 23.
Shelbit and Aban Tether Exchange were placed under Binance’s transaction restrictions from Aug. 7, while A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa and PilotFinance Ltd followed on Aug. 13.
The Aug. 7 date coincided with U.S. Treasury sanctions against Shelbit and Aban Tether. The Office of Foreign Assets Control accused the two platforms of helping Iran move crypto through networks linked to sanctions evasion and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Treasury said IRGC-linked addresses sent more than $1 million in crypto to Shelbit addresses, while Shelbit-linked wallets transferred more than $2 million to addresses controlled by the IRGC. Aban Tether was separately accused of processing millions of dollars in transactions involving previously sanctioned Iranian exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex.
The U.S. sanctions action also covered Iranian national Siavash Kayvanpour and companies linked to him in Georgia, Poland and the United Arab Emirates. Treasury described Kayvanpour as the operator of a network of front companies connected to Shelbit.
Shelbit rejected allegations that it knowingly participated in money laundering, terrorism financing or sanctions evasion. Its former management said the business stopped accepting new customers in December 2025 and completed its customer wind-down the following month.
OFAC said Aban Tether had processed transactions involving several previously designated Iranian exchanges and designated the platform for operating in Iran’s financial sector.
