EU Names HTX and 13 Crypto Services for Transaction Bans
The European Union has named 14 crypto-related platforms and service providers that will become subject to transaction bans under its 21st sanctions package against Russia.
Key Takeaways
- The EU has named 14 crypto-related services for direct and indirect transaction bans.
- A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa and PilotFinance face restrictions from August 13, 2026.
- HTX, EXMO and nine other crypto services face restrictions from August 23.
- HTX says Huobi Global SA is legally distinct from its online exchange, while EXMO is already winding down after separate UK sanctions.
- The EU also created a country-level crypto restriction mechanism, but no jurisdiction has yet been designated.
The European Union has placed 14 crypto-related platforms and service providers on a schedule for transaction bans under its 21st sanctions package against Russia.
The list includes HTX, legally identified in the regulation as Huobi Global SA, as well as EXMO, BitPapa, Rapira and several smaller crypto and payment businesses. Three services linked by name to the A7 payments network were also added.
The restrictions do not amount to a general European ban on crypto trading, every non-EU exchange or every platform operating from the jurisdictions mentioned by the Council. They apply to the legal entities named in the EU regulation from their respective effective dates.
The 14 Crypto Services in Annex XLV
Council Regulation (EU) 2026/1848 amends Annex XLV of the EU’s Russia sanctions framework.
The regulation’s recitals state that the Council identified four financial entities and 14 entities providing crypto-asset services. The annex itself places those names in Part A, which covers non-EU financial institutions and businesses providing crypto or payment services that significantly frustrate the purpose of EU sanctions.
The Council says the entities were listed because they significantly frustrate the purpose of EU sanctions or help preserve financial channels used by Russia.
Inclusion in Annex XLV is a restrictive measure imposed under the EU sanctions framework. It is not a criminal conviction against the company, its owners or its executives.
The 14 crypto-related entries are:
| Crypto-Related Entity | Transaction Ban Begins |
|---|---|
| A7 Nigeria | August 13, 2026 |
| A7 Africa | August 13, 2026 |
| PilotFinance Ltd | August 13, 2026 |
| Rapira | August 23, 2026 |
| Aifory Pro (Sooty Ltd.) | August 23, 2026 |
| ABCeX (Nueva Cryptologia S.A.S DE C.V.) | August 23, 2026 |
| WhiteBird | August 23, 2026 |
| NoOnecrypto INC. | August 23, 2026 |
| Tradex (Brightum LLC) | August 23, 2026 |
| Monease Ltd | August 23, 2026 |
| BitPapa | August 23, 2026 |
| Exnode and Exnode Pay (Arvix) | August 23, 2026 |
| HTX (Huobi Global SA) | August 23, 2026 |
| EXMO Ltd | August 23, 2026 |
Part A of Annex XLV also adds Chinggis Khaan Bank, Sberbank India and India VTB from August 13. Those are the three non-Russian banks added to the same annex section and are not part of the 14 crypto-service count.
Why the A7 Names Do Not Change the Country List
The Council’s announcement says the 14 crypto-related service platforms are based across Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.
Annex XLV lists the legal and trading names but does not provide a country beside each crypto entry. A name such as A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa or ABCeX’s corporate suffix should therefore not be used by itself to infer where the relevant legal entity is established.
The Council also refers separately to four designations connected with the cross-border A7 network and its expansion into Africa. Those are separate asset-freeze designations made through other legal acts. They are not an alternative list replacing the three A7-linked services added to the Annex XLV transaction-ban schedule.
The distinction is:
- Annex XLV transaction bans: 14 crypto-service entities, including A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa and PilotFinance.
- Separate A7 designations: Four people or entities added under asset-freeze legislation linked to the A7 network.
This is why the A7-linked names can appear in the 14-platform table even though the Council separately highlights four new A7 designations.
What HTX and EXMO Say
No EU-specific response to the 21st package was visible in the official announcement pages of HTX or EXMO when checked on July 24. Both companies had, however, already published statements about separate UK sanctions involving their businesses.
HTX disputes the link between Huobi Global SA and its online exchange
HTX’s position is that the sanctioned legal entity and the online trading platform should be treated separately.
In a May statement responding to UK sanctions, HTX said Huobi Global SA was distinct from the online HTX exchange. It argued that the designation “does not and should not have any impact” on the online platform and said its global operations remained unaffected.
The new EU regulation nevertheless identifies the entry as “HTX (HUOBI GLOBAL SA).” For EU sanctions compliance, the legal wording in the Official Journal and any subsequent guidance from competent authorities will determine the scope of the restriction.
There is another practical point for European readers. HTX’s current published user agreement already lists all EU member states among the jurisdictions prohibited from using its services.
The public HTX website continues to display global registration and referral promotions, but those pages do not override the jurisdiction restrictions in the platform’s own agreement. An EU resident should not interpret a visible sign-up button as confirmation of eligibility.
EXMO is already closing after separate UK sanctions
EXMO’s situation is different because the company announced a wind-down before the latest EU package was adopted.
In its official closure notice dated July 14, EXMO said UK financial sanctions had almost completely paralysed its operations. It described those sanctions as unjustified but said it was cooperating with the relevant authorities.
EXMO closed new registrations and deposits, restricted trading to position-closing and asked customers to initiate withdrawals. It also said that some assets had been frozen by custodians, exchanges and banking providers.
The EXMO notice concerns UK sanctions, not the EU measure adopted on July 23. It is still relevant because it shows that the platform was already in an active wind-down before its addition to Annex XLV.
What the Transaction Ban Covers
From the applicable date, the regulation prohibits direct and indirect transactions with the listed entities by people and businesses subject to EU sanctions law.
A direct transaction could include transferring crypto or fiat funds to a named provider. An indirect transaction may involve an intermediary where the listed company remains the actual counterparty, destination or beneficiary.
The ban is not the same as an automatic asset freeze on every wallet that has previously interacted with one of the platforms. The regulation also does not create a fixed rule requiring every address located three or five blockchain transfers away from a listed service to be blocked.
EU operators still need sanctions controls capable of identifying indirect exposure. The assessment depends on the counterparties, transaction route, ownership and control information, and whether an intermediary is being used to circumvent the prohibition.
Existing Customers May Need Authorisation to Exit
The regulation provides a limited route for certain customers who already hold funds with an entity added to Annex XLV.
A national competent authority may authorise a transaction that is strictly necessary to withdraw funds or close an existing account belonging to an EU, European Economic Area or Swiss national, or to a person holding a qualifying residence permit.
The transaction must terminate the customer’s relationship with the listed provider. The application must also be submitted within three months after the relevant transaction ban begins.
This is not an automatic grace period. A customer should not assume that withdrawals remain available after August 13 or August 23 merely because the account existed before the restriction.
The European Commission states that EU operators seeking guidance on a specific sanctions issue should contact their national competent authority. Its EU sanctions contacts page provides the official authority details for every member state, including Bulgaria and Germany.
The Commission’s Russia sanctions resource page also links to the applicable regulations, guidance and EU Sanctions Map.
The EU Can Now Target an Entire Country’s Crypto Sector
The package also creates a broader instrument that could be used in the future.
New Article 5bc allows the EU to prohibit transactions with crypto-asset service providers and crypto exchange or transfer platforms established in an entire non-EU country.
The Council may apply the measure where it determines that a jurisdiction has systematically and persistently failed to prevent crypto services from being used to frustrate EU sanctions.
Article 5bc creates the legal authority. Annex LVII is the schedule in which any targeted jurisdiction would be named.
The annex currently contains only its heading and no countries. The mechanism therefore exists, but no country-wide crypto restriction has yet been activated.
Coindoo previously examined the proposal in its analysis of how the EU’s 21st sanctions package could cut crypto access for Russia’s allies. The adopted regulation confirms that a country must be formally added to Annex LVII before the wider prohibition applies.
A7A5 Was Already Restricted
The 21st package adds further pressure around the A7 network, but it did not create the EU’s first restriction involving the A7A5 stablecoin.
The EU had already prohibited transactions involving A7A5 through its 19th sanctions package.
The latest regulation adds A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa and PilotFinance to the transaction-ban list from August 13. Separate legal acts also add four A7-related asset-freeze designations.
No official EU document reviewed for this article provides the claimed figure of $120 billion in A7A5 transactions, so that number is not used here.
MiCA Licensing Does Not Override Sanctions
The new restrictions arrived shortly after the end of the maximum transition period under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, but MiCA and sanctions serve different legal purposes.
MiCA governs the authorisation, organisation and conduct of crypto-asset service providers operating in the EU.
The sanctions framework determines whether dealings with a particular company, person, service or jurisdiction are prohibited for foreign-policy and security reasons.
A company was not added to Annex XLV merely because it lacked a MiCA licence. Likewise, a MiCA-authorised business cannot rely on that licence to transact with an entity subject to a sanctions prohibition.
Russia and Belarus Ownership Rules Also Expand
The July legislation separately broadens existing ownership and management restrictions under the EU’s Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes.
From August 25, Regulation (EU) 2026/1848 extends the relevant Russian-national and Russian-resident restriction to EU entities providing the wider range of crypto-asset services defined under MiCA.
A parallel change applies under the Belarus framework. Regulation (EU) 2026/1846 extends the ownership, control and governing-body restriction concerning Belarusian nationals and residents to the wider group of MiCA crypto services from August 25.
These measures are separate from the transaction bans on the 14 foreign platforms. The platform bans restrict dealings with specified entities, while the ownership rules govern who may own, control or manage certain EU-incorporated crypto businesses.
What EU Users and Crypto Firms Should Do
- Check the exact legal entity. A brand may operate through several companies, while Annex XLV identifies particular legal names and aliases.
- Confirm the effective date. Three A7-linked services are covered from August 13 and the other 11 crypto entries from August 23.
- Do not rely on a platform’s registration page. Eligibility terms and EU sanctions restrictions can apply even when a global website remains accessible.
- Contact the national competent authority before attempting a restricted withdrawal. Existing customers may need formal authorisation to close an account.
- Screen indirect as well as direct exposure. Using an intermediary does not make a prohibited transaction lawful.
- Keep evidence of due diligence. Businesses should retain records showing how legal entities, beneficiaries, ownership and payment routes were checked.
- Treat MiCA and sanctions as separate checks. Regulatory authorisation does not override a transaction ban.
The immediate result of the package is a scheduled cutoff of EU transactions with 14 named crypto services.
The broader country-level tool could eventually reach many more platforms, but only after the Council formally adds a jurisdiction to Annex LVII. Until then, the new mechanism remains available but unused.
How this article was created: The entity names and effective dates were compared directly with Annex XLV in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Council’s summary was then checked against the annex, while the current positions of HTX and EXMO were reviewed through their own announcements, terms and account notices. No secondary news report was used as the factual basis for the sanctions list.
This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory or financial advice. Anyone holding funds with a listed provider should review the Official Journal, contact the relevant national competent authority and obtain qualified sanctions advice before attempting a transaction.
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
