HTX, formerly Huobi, is a global crypto exchange that operates offshore with no tier-one licence, and its regulatory position worsened sharply in 2026: the UK sanctioned its operating entity in May over alleged Russia-linked flows, and the exchange pulled out of the entire EU on July 1 rather than seek MiCA authorization. Its welcome offer for referred new users is a set of mystery boxes containing small random amounts of crypto plus futures trial credit, unlocked by logging in and meeting trading-volume tasks. The real withdrawable value is small and randomized rather than the headline ceiling.
Risk warning: Trading carries a high risk of losing money, especially with leveraged products such as CFDs. A bonus does not reduce that risk. Only deposit what you can afford to lose.
HTX
HTX gives new users referred by an existing member up to five mystery boxes of small random crypto, plus futures trial credit, unlocked by logging in and hitting modest spot or futures trading volume within 14 days.
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HTX started life as Huobi, founded in China in 2013, and moved offshore through China's successive crypto crackdowns. In October 2022 Tron founder Justin Sun acquired a controlling stake, and in September 2023 the exchange rebranded from Huobi to HTX. It remains one of the larger global exchanges by volume, offering spot, futures and earn products.
The brand's recent history includes a rough security stretch: an $8 million hot-wallet theft in September 2023, days after the rebrand, followed by a roughly $30 million breach in November 2023. Across late 2023, Sun-affiliated platforms including HTX and Poloniex lost about $208 million to hackers. Sun publicly pledged that HTX would cover user losses from its incidents.
HTX holds no tier-one licence. Its public licensing page lists a patchwork of lighter registrations: a provisional (not full) approval from Dubai's VARA, a Lithuanian virtual-currency registration, a BVI investment business licence, an AUSTRAC registration in Australia and a no-objection certificate in Pakistan. It has never been licensed in the US and does not accept US customers.
Two events in 2026 changed the picture materially. In May, the UK sanctioned HTX's operating entity, Huobi Global S.A., under its Russia sanctions regime, alleging the exchange helped channel over $1.5 billion connected to sanctioned Russian networks; it was the first time the UK applied that kind of designation to a crypto exchange. HTX disputes the allegations and says the sanctioned entity is distinct from the online exchange, but UK persons are now legally required to avoid transacting with it, and other exchanges have reportedly tightened scrutiny of HTX-linked transfers.
Then on July 1, 2026, HTX excluded the entire European Union from service. The EU's MiCA framework required crypto-asset service providers to hold authorization by that date, and HTX chose to exit the market rather than apply. EU residents can no longer open or operate accounts.
HTX offers spot trading, USDT-margined and coin-margined futures, and earn products, with P2P fiat ramps in supported regions. Base spot fees are 0.2% maker and taker, higher than most large rivals, stepping down through volume tiers; holding the HT token cuts spot fees by 25%. Futures start around 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker.
Fees matter more than usual here because HTX's welcome rewards only count trades that pay real fees. Zero-fee pairs, stablecoin pairs and trades funded by trial credit are excluded from the qualifying volume, so the effective cost of unlocking a reward is the fees you pay to get there.
HTX's headline new-user offer, advertised at up to 1,500 USDT, is a referral mystery-box program. A referred user can earn up to two boxes: one for logging into the HTX app within 14 days of signup, another for reaching 200 USDT of spot volume. A third milestone at 300 USDT of futures volume rewards the referrer, who can collect up to three boxes per referral and 61 per month. Each box contains a small random amount of crypto or non-withdrawable futures trial credit; the 1,500 USDT figure is the theoretical ceiling of a single box, not a typical outcome.
The conditions have teeth. If the referred user does not log into the app within 14 days of signing up, both parties forfeit every box, even if the volume targets were hit. Boxes expire 14 days after they are earned and must be manually claimed and opened in the Rewards Hub; nothing is auto-credited. Only fee-paying trades count toward the volume thresholds. Market makers are excluded, sub-accounts cannot refer, and HTX reserves broad rights to freeze accounts and confiscate rewards for multi-accounting or wash trading. Referrers separately earn an ongoing 30% commission on their invitees' trading fees.
HTX also rotates time-boxed promotions with large advertised pools, such as a 50,000 USDT stock-futures trading contest in June 2026 and a new-funds deposit bonus program that ended June 30, 2026. These follow the same pattern: big headline numbers, first-come-first-served sub-pools and task gating that make the realistic per-user payout far smaller.
Rewards require completing identity verification, and every reward step is manual: claim in the Rewards Hub, open within the validity window, or forfeit. Read the current terms for whichever promotion is live before depositing, because the task lists and exclusions change frequently.
The bigger consideration is counterparty risk. HTX combines a real hack history, no tier-one regulator, an active UK sanctions designation and a fresh exit from the EU. Whatever the welcome boxes pay, treat balances on HTX the way you would treat funds on any offshore exchange under regulatory pressure: keep only what you are actively trading and withdraw the rest.
Not by any tier-one authority. It holds lighter registrations such as a provisional Dubai VARA approval, a Lithuanian virtual-currency registration, a BVI licence and an AUSTRAC registration. In 2026 its position deteriorated: the UK sanctioned its operating entity in May, and it exited the EU on July 1 rather than seek MiCA authorization.
No. HTX excluded the entire European Union from service on July 1, 2026 after declining to seek MiCA authorization. UK persons are required to avoid transacting with the sanctioned Huobi Global S.A. entity following the May 2026 designation, and HTX says it does not serve the UK. US residents have never been accepted.
Far less than the advertised 1,500 USDT ceiling. Each box contains a small random amount of crypto or non-withdrawable futures trial credit. The realistic outcome from the two new-user boxes is a few dollars' worth, and the trial-credit portion can only be used as trading margin.
Sign up through a referral, log into the HTX app within 14 days (missing this voids everything for both sides), then complete the volume tasks, starting with 200 USDT of spot volume for the second box. Only trades that pay real fees count, and each box must be manually claimed and opened in the Rewards Hub within 14 days of being earned.
Yes, twice in late 2023: roughly $8 million in September and $30 million in November, both from hot wallets. Justin Sun pledged that HTX would cover user losses, and it did. The incidents are part of why counterparty risk matters more at HTX than the size of any welcome offer.
In May 2026 the UK sanctioned Huobi Global S.A., HTX's operating entity, alleging it helped move over $1.5 billion connected to sanctioned Russian networks. HTX disputes the allegations and says the entity is distinct from the exchange. It was the first UK sanctions designation of a crypto exchange, and other platforms have since tightened scrutiny of HTX-linked transfers.