HTX Named in EU's Latest Russia Sanctions PackageCryptocurrency exchange HTX was sanctioned by the European Union on Thursday as part of the bloc's latest effort to tighten pressure on Russia's financial system. HTX was included in a list of 18 companies providing crypto services, and was formerly known as Huobi, established in China in 2013. Hong Kong-based billionaire Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) bought a controlling stake in the exchange in 2022.
The EU said the 18 listed companies helped Russians evade sanctions. EU authorities included the crypto companies in the bloc's 21st sanctions package against Russia over the war in Ukraine. The EU's latest sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine targets banks, cryptocurrency networks, oil traders, the shadow fleet, and Russian energy revenues.
The EU's sanctioning of HTX does not amount to a full designation and does not include an asset freeze. Instead, the listing bans EU operators from transacting with the exchange, placing a compliance burden on European counterparties without directly freezing HTX's assets.
UK Action Came First, HTX Pushed BackHTX had already faced sanctions in the United Kingdom. On May 26, British authorities targeted Huobi Global S.A., the Panama-based company behind HTX, over alleged financial services involving A7 and Garantex, two entities previously sanctioned over their links to Russia. The UK Foreign Office alleged that HTX provided services to A7, a payments network backed by Russian state-controlled Promsvyazbank, and Moscow-based crypto exchange Garantex. British restrictions included an asset freeze and barred UK companies from processing payments or maintaining financial relationships with the designated entities.
The UK government suspects HTX of channeling over $1.5 billion to Russia to help the regime bypass international trade blockades. HTX responded to the UK action by arguing that Huobi Global S.A. was a legally distinct Panama entity, separate from the trading platform itself. HTX argued that the UK action targeted Huobi Global S.A. as a distinct legal entity and that the trading platform's operations remained unaffected. The EU's latest listing places both HTX and Huobi Global S.A. side by side, making that distinction harder to sustain.
The sanctions are the latest sign of countries cracking down on the use of crypto to move funds outside the mainstream financial system. HTX is the largest exchange yet caught in the Russia sanctions net, and the coordinated EU and UK actions signal that offshore platforms of any scale are now within reach of Western enforcement.
HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sources:
Reuters via Euronext: Crypto exchange HTX included in EU's Russia sanctions
Finance Magnates: EU Adds HTX to Russia Sanctions Two Months After UK's Action
Chainalysis: UK Sanctions Crypto Companies With Russia Ties
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
HTX Research Head and Lead Analyst Andy Liu recently guested at Huobi’s Expert Lecture Hall, delivering a presentation themed “Q3 2026 Outlook: The New Order of the Crypto Market Amid Global Liquidity Repricing”. He noted that BTC is no longer merely a native crypto asset, but a proxy for global U.S. dollar liquidity. The three core variables driving BTC’s performance in Q3 are: liquidity for direction, ETFs for elasticity, and the U.S. dollar for risk. On Ethereum, Andy Liu highlighted that the current issue facing Ethereum is not whether its ecosystem is growing, but whether that growth can translate into value for ETH. In the medium to long term, Ethereum remains one of the most critical settlement and application infrastructures in crypto. However, in the short term, ETH must re-prove that ecosystem growth can be converted into ETH value. Thus, the core assessment for ETH in Q3 is: regulation for direction, DeFi for elasticity, and fees and burns for confirmation.
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After last week’s plunge of over $1,500, Bitcoin rattled its 2020 positive run. The question remained if the $8,500 critical support level could hold the downfall, and, so far, it has.
The largest cryptocurrency dipped below it to $8,440, but it managed to recover quickly. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at approximately $8,700.
If BTC continues to increase, the first significant resistance level lies at $8,800, followed by $9,000. The latter also serves as a major psychological line.
BTC/USD. Source: TradingView Most of the cryptocurrency market notes small upwards movements today. Ethereum, Litecoin, Tezos, and EOS are all up with around 1%.
Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV are the most significant gainers among the top 10 coins by market cap. The former is up with 2.66% to $322 and the latter with 4.6% $234.
Contrary, Huobi Token records the largest decline in the top 20. HT is down with over 4% and is currently trading at $4.66.
You may also like: Brutal Bitcoin Liquidation Cascade Imminent Below $59K, Warns Analyst Bitcoin Price Crashes Below $60K as Strategy’s MSTR Plunges 10% Bitcoin’s Network Is Booming Even as Prices Remain Below Record Highs Major Crypto Headlines Breaking: Bitfinex Exchange Goes Under Unscheduled Maintenance, Suspects DDoS Attack. The popular cryptocurrency exchange, Bitfinex, went through unscheduled maintenance on Friday. Even though the company suspected a DDoS attack on its network, later, Bitfinex said that all issues had been resolved.
Interestingly, OKEx went through an unscheduled system update on the same day, as well.
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Significant Daily Gainers and Losers Bytecoin (23%) BCN skyrockets today with 23% gains against the U.S. dollar to $0.0005. It rises with 21.6% against the largest cryptocurrency, and BCN/BTC currently trades at 6 SAT.
With the most recent price increase, the total market capitalization of Bytecoin is well above $92 million.
AELF (12.32%) Elf is in the green today, as well. It rises to $0.1, after a 12% price jump. Elf trades at 1163 SAT after an 11% increase against Bitcoin.
The company recently published a comprehensive guide on how to utilize its network mechanism securely.
Kyber Network (-12.45%) On the other side of the scale sits KNC’s price. After yesterday’s surge to $0.85, KNC drops to $0.7. It also goes down to 8074 SAT, following a 13.5% drop.
Despite the most recent decrease, Kyber Network still has a total market cap of above $125 million.
Undeterred by the centralization conflicts that had engulfed the Steem ecosystem and Tron Foundation’s Justin Sun, for the most part, STEEM has continued with its upward trajectory. However, the current indices tell a different picture.
At press time, it was priced at $0.179 after a drop of 3.93 over the past 24-hours. STEEM further registered a market cap of $65.9 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $9.30 million.
Resistance: $0.297
Support: $0.110
MACD: The MACD line moving above the signal line depicted a bullish trend for STEEM in the near term.
CMF: The CMF lying the bearish territory indicated the outflow of capital from the STEEM market.
Huobi Token [HT]:
Despite this year’s expansion plans of the crypto exchange, Huobi, its native token – HT, has, so far, failed to reciprocate positively. However, there could be trend reversal in the offing.
HT registered a market cap of $837.2 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $150.3 million, at press time It was valued at $3.71 after a surge of 4.68% over the past 24-hours.
Resistance: $4.103, $5.041
Support: $2.394
Parabolic SAR: The dotted markers were below the price candles which indicated a bullish phase for the Huobi Token
Awesome Oscillator: The closing green bars of the AO also aligned with the bulls.
Enjin Coin [ENJ]:
At press time, Enjin Coin [ENJ] was priced at $0.096 after a surge of whopping 7.27% over the last 24-hours. It registered a market cap of $78.93 million and a 24-hour trading volume of $7.11 million.
Resistance: $0.146
Support: $0.043
Klinger Oscillator: The KO pictured bears weighing in on the coin’s price in the near-term.
RSI: The RSI, however, was well above the 50-median neutral zone depicting a bullish sentiment among the investors in the ENJ market.
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The US May core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index monthly rate will be released tonight at 20:30 (UTC+8). Below are the forecasts from multiple institutions: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation: 0.2%; Royal Bank of Canada: 0.2%; JPMorgan Chase: 0.3%; Goldman Sachs Group: 0.3%; Bank of Montreal: 0.3%; Moody's Corporation: 0.3%; Standard Chartered: 0.3%; UniCredit: 0.3%; ING Group: 0.3%; HSBC Holdings: 0.3%; BNP Paribas: 0.4%; Wells Fargo: 0.4%; Capital Economics: 0.4%; Citigroup: 0.4%; Deutsche Bank: 0.4%; Nomura Securities: 0.4%; Pantheon Macroeconomics: 0.4%; Société Générale: 0.4%; Scotiabank: 0.4%; Morgan Stanley: 0.4%
12 minutes ago
DA Davidson Raises Micron’s Price Target to $2,000, Retains Buy Rating
U.S. investment bank DA Davidson released a research note stating that Micron Technology has entered a new phase with one of the best performance visibility in the semiconductor industry, a stark contrast to its past standing in the sector. Driven by another quarter of results that handily exceeded expectations and positive forward guidance, Micron’s stock price surged sharply. These signals indicate that the current memory chip boom cycle is far from over. While the company is ramping up capacity investments (with capital expenditure (CAPEX) projected to hit $10 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which will bring additional supply), management expects the memory market to remain tight on supply and demand at least through 2027. Against this backdrop, DA Davidson reiterated its "Buy" rating on Micron and raised its price target from $1,500 to $2,000, equivalent to a 20x price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio based on the company’s 2026 calendar year expected earnings per share (EPS).
12 minutes ago
Morgan Stanley raises Micron's price target to $1,200, maintains 'Overweight' rating.
Morgan Stanley released a report raising Micron Technology (MU.O)’s price target from $1,050 to $1,200, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. The investment bank lifted its fiscal 2027 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the chipmaker by roughly 40% to $168, and upgraded its free cash flow (FCF) projection from $104 billion to $140 billion. Aligning with Micron’s management, the bank holds that AI will push DRAM demand to consistently outpace supply significantly after 2027. Micron’s last fiscal quarter results matched this trend, with both its quarterly performance and outlook showing notable upside potential.
12 minutes ago
US officials: Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
A U.S. State Department official said Israel has withdrawn from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a "goodwill gesture" toward the Lebanese government.
12 minutes ago
CBRS trades below IPO price post-earnings: Erases all gains six weeks after listing, two smart money firms net $5.8 million from first-day IPO shorts.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, Cerebras (CBRS), the AI chip firm previously dubbed "Nvidia’s strongest challenger", saw its stock price fall in stages after reporting its first quarterly results since going public, as negative guidance overshadowed better-than-expected performance. The stock has dropped roughly 22% since the earnings release and officially broke below its IPO price today. On-chain whales are overall bearish. CBRS trades at $184 on the Hyperliquid platform, down 7.7% in 24 hours. Large-scale short positions (million-dollar level) total around $11.62 million, 2.39 times the long positions ($4.87 million). Two major short positions were placed precisely at high levels as early as the IPO day or even before the IPO: - Whale 0xe0ff: Shorted at $284.51 on May 14 with a 3x leveraged position of $6.13 million, generating an unrealized profit of $3.24 million (+104%); - Whale 0x9996: Shorted at $275.92 on May 11 with a 5x leveraged position of $5.48 million, generating an unrealized profit of $2.64 million (+162%). It is learned that both addresses currently hold short positions in both CBRS and SPCX, and have recorded substantial unrealized profits, preferring to place short positions at high levels before or on the day of major stock listings. With the realization of negative earnings news in this round, the combined unrealized profit of the two positions is around $5.88 million. Currently, the average entry price of CBRS short whales is around $275, and the current price is over 30% lower than that. The nearest short liquidation line is at $200.13, about 7% away from the current price.
Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is under fire again after Justin Sun’s HTX exchange took counter measures. HTX fired back by suspending WLFI trading pairs and delisting the project’s USD1 stablecoin. The move came in response to WLFI freezing user assets in Huobi-related wallet addresses.
Justin Sun’s HTX Moves To Delist USD1 Stablecoin In a new announcement on June 6, HTX announced that it will officially delist USD1 on June 7 at 11:00 UTC+8. Moreover, the will convert the eligible user’s holdings in USD1 to USDT at a 1:1 exchange rate.
The crypto exchange said the decision aimed “to reduce potential risks, ensure the safety of user assets, and maintain a fair trading environment.”
🪧 火币 HTX 关于 $WLFI、 $USD1 资产处理的情况说明
The World Liberty Financial (WLFI) 项目方近期以相关制裁合规审查为由，单方面对火币 HTX 相关链上地址采取冻结措施，导致部分 WLFI 资产链上流转受限。
鉴于 USD1 同样由 WLFI…
— 火币HTX (@HuobiGlobal) June 6, 2026
After the conversion process, “the corresponding USDT will be credited to users’ spot accounts,” HTX added. The team also noted that the final time for the distribution would be announced separately.
The latest move comes after HTX’s earlier statement on June 5. It indicated that the “World Liberty Financial (WLFI) project team has recently, citing compliance reviews related to sanctions, unilaterally frozen on-chain addresses associated with Huobi HTX.” The exchange said that the limitations applied to “the on-chain circulation of certain WLFI assets.”
At the time, HTX had halted a number of trading pairs involving WLFI. These included WLFI/USDT, USD1/USDT, BTC/USD1, and ETH/USD1, due to the issues of asset security and fairness of the market. Now, the exchange has taken it one step further, by completely withdrawing USD1 from its platform.
The World Liberty Financial Vs. Justin Lawsuit Drama The dispute comes as the ongoing legal dispute between WLFI and Tron founder Justin Sun. In his suit, Sun claims that his tokens were frozen without any reason. He added that the project had a potential to destroy the assets, which might make it impossible to recover them.
WLFI was also accused by Sun of having a “blacklist” mechanism where he froze or even limited user funds. WLFI, in turn, filed a countersuit against the Tron founder for orchestrating a campaign of defamation and distortion. They added that he is reinforcing harmful accusations on social media through influencers and bots.
Further, although Sun got a behind-the-scenes settlement offer from a WLFI investor, he hasn’t yet announced any progress around it.
FixedFloat has tightened its compliance rules for transactions linked to Huobi or HTX after the United Kingdom placed Huobi Global S.A. under Russia-related sanctions.
Summary
FixedFloat now suspends Huobi-origin funds and requires extra checks under its revised compliance procedures. UK authorities say HTX falls under Huobi sanctions despite the exchange disputing that legal connection. ZachXBT warns broad address tainting may weaken risk labels and complicate legitimate blockchain investigations globally. The instant crypto exchange said it will suspend incoming funds that originate from Huobi and require extra verification. It also advised users to check whether their funds or sending addresses connect to sanctioned entities before starting an exchange.
FixedFloat adds checks for Huobi-linked funds “Funds originating from Huobi will be suspended by our service and will be subject to additional verification,” FixedFloat said. The company did not state how long reviews may take or how far back it will trace transfers.
OrangeFren warned users to take care when handling coins that had previously passed through Huobi or HTX. The warning reflects concern that transaction screening can affect users who received coins after they left an exchange.
Meanwhile, the UK designated Huobi Global S.A. on May 26 under its Russia sanctions framework. The official notice lists “HTX,” “HTX Exchange” and htx.com as details connected to the designated company.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation later said it considers the HTX cryptocurrency exchange subject to the measures because Huobi owns it. For UK firms, the rules include asset freezes and restrictions on processing payments involving a designated party.
HTX disputes that position. As previously reported by crypto.news, the exchange said Huobi Global S.A. is separate from its operating platform. It also said user funds remained unaffected and planned to engage with UK authorities.
ZachXBT questions broad wallet tainting Blockchain investigator ZachXBT called the UK action “a bit of an overreach.” He said HTX serves many retail users in Asia, which could cause compliance systems to label unrelated wallets as risky.
He added that “risk itself has become meaningless” when tracing cases by sanctions exposure. According to ZachXBT, some screening tools also struggle to separate activity before a designation from transfers made after sanctions took effect.
Recent UK crypto sanctions seem to be a bit of an overreach.
Wonder if it will ever get to the point where it’s ignored because HTX address tainting onchain has been catastrophic.
In the past sanctions were done and those crypto businesses typically had a high % of illicit…
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 8, 2026 Crypto can move through many wallets before reaching a new owner. A user may receive funds with an old HTX link without knowing their full transaction history. FixedFloat has not said whether every past connection will trigger review or only direct transfers.
The UK said it had reasonable grounds to suspect Huobi Global provided financial services to Russia-linked A7 and Garantex entities. HTX has rejected the link between the sanctioned company and its exchange operations.
FixedFloat’s policy shows how one government’s sanctions decision can shape screening outside banking. Users sending funds with a Huobi or HTX history may now face checks without being accused of wrongdoing. The notice announced no exemptions for verified retail users.
PANews reported on June 9 that, according to CoinMarketCap data, Huobi HTX saw a net inflow of over $26 million in the past 24 hours on June 9, ranking second among global centralized exchanges (CEXs).
Industry insiders believe that net capital inflows are generally considered an important indicator of user activity and market participation on trading platforms. In the current market environment, the continued inflow of funds into leading platforms reflects that some users are reassessing their asset allocation and trading strategies. Data shows that Huobi HTX has recently attracted significant capital attention, indicating a certain degree of recovery in market confidence.
Circle partners with Nomura Securities to enter the Japanese yen foreign exchange settlement service market.
Stablecoin issuer Circle plans to collaborate with Nomura Securities to launch instant foreign currency settlement for Japanese corporate clients as early as 2027. The initiative will enable large cross-border transactions to be completed immediately, aiming to boost cross-border investment and trade. This will mark the first entry of a major stablecoin issuer into Japan’s corporate transaction market, allowing companies to convert yen into US dollar-denominated stablecoins for investment and instant transfers.
12 minutes ago
Institutions' Preview: Overview of US May Core PCE Price Index Monthly Rate
The US May core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index monthly rate will be released tonight at 20:30 (UTC+8). Below are the forecasts from multiple institutions: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation: 0.2%; Royal Bank of Canada: 0.2%; JPMorgan Chase: 0.3%; Goldman Sachs Group: 0.3%; Bank of Montreal: 0.3%; Moody's Corporation: 0.3%; Standard Chartered: 0.3%; UniCredit: 0.3%; ING Group: 0.3%; HSBC Holdings: 0.3%; BNP Paribas: 0.4%; Wells Fargo: 0.4%; Capital Economics: 0.4%; Citigroup: 0.4%; Deutsche Bank: 0.4%; Nomura Securities: 0.4%; Pantheon Macroeconomics: 0.4%; Société Générale: 0.4%; Scotiabank: 0.4%; Morgan Stanley: 0.4%
12 minutes ago
DA Davidson Raises Micron’s Price Target to $2,000, Retains Buy Rating
U.S. investment bank DA Davidson released a research note stating that Micron Technology has entered a new phase with one of the best performance visibility in the semiconductor industry, a stark contrast to its past standing in the sector. Driven by another quarter of results that handily exceeded expectations and positive forward guidance, Micron’s stock price surged sharply. These signals indicate that the current memory chip boom cycle is far from over. While the company is ramping up capacity investments (with capital expenditure (CAPEX) projected to hit $10 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which will bring additional supply), management expects the memory market to remain tight on supply and demand at least through 2027. Against this backdrop, DA Davidson reiterated its "Buy" rating on Micron and raised its price target from $1,500 to $2,000, equivalent to a 20x price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio based on the company’s 2026 calendar year expected earnings per share (EPS).
12 minutes ago
Morgan Stanley raises Micron's price target to $1,200, maintains 'Overweight' rating.
Morgan Stanley released a report raising Micron Technology (MU.O)’s price target from $1,050 to $1,200, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. The investment bank lifted its fiscal 2027 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the chipmaker by roughly 40% to $168, and upgraded its free cash flow (FCF) projection from $104 billion to $140 billion. Aligning with Micron’s management, the bank holds that AI will push DRAM demand to consistently outpace supply significantly after 2027. Micron’s last fiscal quarter results matched this trend, with both its quarterly performance and outlook showing notable upside potential.
12 minutes ago
US officials: Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
A U.S. State Department official said Israel has withdrawn from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a "goodwill gesture" toward the Lebanese government.
12 minutes ago
CBRS trades below IPO price post-earnings: Erases all gains six weeks after listing, two smart money firms net $5.8 million from first-day IPO shorts.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, Cerebras (CBRS), the AI chip firm previously dubbed "Nvidia’s strongest challenger", saw its stock price fall in stages after reporting its first quarterly results since going public, as negative guidance overshadowed better-than-expected performance. The stock has dropped roughly 22% since the earnings release and officially broke below its IPO price today. On-chain whales are overall bearish. CBRS trades at $184 on the Hyperliquid platform, down 7.7% in 24 hours. Large-scale short positions (million-dollar level) total around $11.62 million, 2.39 times the long positions ($4.87 million). Two major short positions were placed precisely at high levels as early as the IPO day or even before the IPO: - Whale 0xe0ff: Shorted at $284.51 on May 14 with a 3x leveraged position of $6.13 million, generating an unrealized profit of $3.24 million (+104%); - Whale 0x9996: Shorted at $275.92 on May 11 with a 5x leveraged position of $5.48 million, generating an unrealized profit of $2.64 million (+162%). It is learned that both addresses currently hold short positions in both CBRS and SPCX, and have recorded substantial unrealized profits, preferring to place short positions at high levels before or on the day of major stock listings. With the realization of negative earnings news in this round, the combined unrealized profit of the two positions is around $5.88 million. Currently, the average entry price of CBRS short whales is around $275, and the current price is over 30% lower than that. The nearest short liquidation line is at $200.13, about 7% away from the current price.
PANews reported on June 10th that, according to the latest Merkle Tree Proof-of-Reserve (PoR) data from Huobi HTX, as of June 1, 2026 (UTC+8), Huobi HTX's reserve ratios for all major assets have remained above 100%. Ample reserves and a 100% redemption commitment ensure users can trade and withdraw funds at any time. As one of the earliest platforms in the industry to continuously disclose Merkle Tree Proof-of-Reserve data, Huobi HTX has publicly disclosed PoR data for 44 consecutive months, providing long-term protection for user asset security.
The specific updated reserve ratios are as follows: BTC (103%), ETH (100%), TRX (105%), USDs (104%), HTX (101%), XRP (104%), DOGE (100%), and SOL (100%). Users can view these on the "Assets - Proof of Reserves Report" page of the Huobi HTX official website. Huobi HTX is committed to maintaining a 1:1 reserve ratio and publishes a monthly proof of reserves report, setting a higher standard for the digital currency industry and fulfilling its commitment to ensuring customer fund security and data accuracy.
TLDREU Expands Sanctions to Crypto ServicesHTX and Garantex Named in UK MeasuresGet 3 Free Stock Ebooks EU proposes banning transactions on 11 crypto platforms in new sanctions package. Kaja Kallas confirms tighter restrictions on crypto-asset services to certain third countries. The package targets 31 Russian banks and 20 entities outside the bloc. European Commission has not disclosed the names of affected crypto platforms. UK previously sanctioned Huobi Global S.A., linked to HTX. The European Union has proposed banning transactions on 11 crypto platforms under its 21st sanctions package against Russia. The plan expands existing restrictions and targets financial networks accused of supporting Moscow. Officials said the measures will tighten controls on crypto-asset services in certain third countries.
EU Expands Sanctions to Crypto Services Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission, outlined the proposal in a public statement. She said the EU will extend restrictions beyond banks and energy revenues.
“We will also tighten our ban for crypto-asset services to certain third countries,” Kallas wrote on X.
We are depriving Russia of the means to fund its war.
We intend to deal a heavy blow to Russia’s financial sector, imposing assets freezes on close to 90 banks and additional transactions bans on over 30 banks in Russia and other third countries.
We will also tighten our ban…
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 9, 2026
She also confirmed that the package will “ban transactions on 11 crypto platforms.” However, the Commission did not disclose the names of those platforms.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described other elements of the proposal. She said the package targets 31 additional Russian banks and 20 entities in third countries. These entities include banks, crypto platforms, oil traders, and refineries.
Von der Leyen stated that the targets had served sanctioned Russian individuals or entities. She added that some entities helped circumvent EU measures. The proposal now awaits further discussion among member states.
HTX and Garantex Named in UK Measures The EU proposal follows action by the United Kingdom on May 26. UK authorities sanctioned Huobi Global S.A., the company linked to HTX. Officials said they suspected support for Russia-linked financial networks.
UK authorities cited links to A7 Limited Liability Company and Garantex. Both entities have already faced sanctions under previous measures. The UK said there were reasonable grounds to suspect financial facilitation.
HTX denied the allegations and rejected the claims. The company said the sanctioned entity operates separately from its online exchange. It did not provide further operational details in its public response.
A report by Global Ledger examined HTX activity between 2021 and May 2026. The report said HTX processed about $21.06 billion in high-risk crypto flows. It linked at least $7.64 billion to Russian high-risk entities and darknet markets.
The report identified entities including Garantex, its successor Grinex, A7A5, and Hydra. UK sanctions drew criticism from some blockchain researchers. They argued that exchange-level tainting could freeze legitimate users and weaken compliance tracing tools.
The UK government just dropped its latest sanctions hammer, and this time a major crypto exchange is caught in the blast radius. Huobi, operating under its HTX rebrand, has been designated alongside 17 other individuals and entities connected to what British officials call the “A7 network,” a sprawling shadow financial system allegedly used to funnel money toward Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine.
The A7 network reportedly facilitated over $90 billion in transactions during 2025 alone. To put that in perspective, that figure represents nearly half of Russia’s total military spending.
What the sanctions actually target The May 26 sanctions package goes well beyond crypto. Britain expanded trade restrictions to cover uranium imports, certain chemicals, and LNG maritime services, while maintaining limited licensing for processed oil products.
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Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper framed the move as a necessary evolution. Sanctions regimes that worked in 2022 look increasingly outdated when adversaries adapt through crypto networks and shell companies.
This latest round brings the UK’s total sanctions tally against Russia to over 3,300 designated individuals and entities. British officials estimate these measures have collectively inflicted around $450 billion in losses on the Russian war economy.
Energy support for Ukraine The sanctions announcement came paired with a significant energy commitment. The UK has now pledged over £490 million toward Ukraine’s energy security, with £173 million earmarked specifically for the Ukraine Energy Support Fund.
Since September 2025, an additional £87 million has been directed toward repairing Ukraine’s battered electricity network and strengthening defenses against Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
What this means for crypto investors The immediate market reaction to these sanctions was minimal. No major token experienced a dramatic sell-off, and trading volumes didn’t spike in any unusual way.
When a G7 government formally designates a crypto exchange as part of a war-financing network, it sends a regulatory signal that reverberates well beyond British borders. Other jurisdictions tend to follow suit, either through their own sanctions or through increased compliance pressure on domestic platforms that interact with designated entities.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
HTX remains under the compliance microscope after UK sanctions records and blockchain-intelligence analysis pointed to Huobi Global S.A., operating as HTX, being designated under the UK’s Russia sanctions regime.
TL;DR The UK OFSI consolidated sanctions list is the primary source for the designation trail. TRM Labs has published a compliance analysis explaining why the designation matters for crypto firms. This should be framed as a compliance-analysis piece, not a fresh breaking sanctions announcement. The story should be handled carefully. The designation itself is not a brand-new market shock today, but the compliance implications are still important. OFSI’s consolidated list is the official reference point, while TRM Labs’ analysis explains what the designation may mean for exchanges, analytics teams and firms screening crypto exposure.
Sanctions designations create practical obligations for firms with UK exposure. If a listed entity is subject to an asset freeze, companies must assess whether they are holding, controlling or facilitating movement of funds connected to that entity. In crypto, that can be harder than in traditional finance because activity may move through wallets, intermediaries and cross-border platforms.
Why HTX Matters For Compliance Teams HTX is a globally known crypto exchange brand. A sanctions designation linked to a major exchange name is therefore more significant than a narrow wallet listing or a small service provider. Compliance teams have to ask not only whether they interact directly with a named entity, but also how to treat flows that may pass through related infrastructure.
TRM’s analysis points to the operational challenge: sanctions screening is no longer limited to checking static customer names. Crypto firms need wallet intelligence, transaction monitoring and escalation processes that can respond when a large platform or associated entity appears on an official list.
Market Impact Versus Compliance Impact This does not automatically mean a broad market sell-off or an immediate exchange crisis. The more grounded article angle is compliance. UK-regulated businesses, counterparties and service providers need to understand their obligations, while non-UK firms may still adjust risk controls because sanctions exposure can spill across jurisdictions.
For traders, the direct impact may be limited unless liquidity, access or counterparty relationships are disrupted. For institutions, the signal is clearer: sanctions risk around crypto venues remains a board-level issue, not just a back-office function.
The Bottom Line The HTX designation story is best read as part of a wider trend. Governments are increasingly using financial sanctions tools in crypto contexts, while analytics firms are building the interpretive layer that helps businesses understand what those lists mean operationally.
For NewsBTC, the core point is simple: this is not just a name on a government list. It is a live example of how crypto platforms can become entangled in sanctions compliance, and why firms touching digital assets need stronger screening and monitoring systems than they did a few years ago.
A Slow-Burn Risk For Exchanges Sanctions stories do not always move markets immediately. Their impact can show up slowly, through banking relationships, compliance checks, vendor reviews and counterparty restrictions. For a major exchange brand, that means the reputational and operational effects can matter even when token prices barely react on the day.
PANews, June 19 – According to an official announcement, HTX will open O/USDT spot trading on June 19 at 18:00 (UTC+8). Deposits for O will open on June 19 at 16:00, and withdrawals will open on June 20 at 18:00.
It is reported that o1.exchange is an on-chain trading platform that integrates a meta-decentralized exchange aggregator, an on-chain trading terminal, and a mobile trading interface. It consolidates spot trading, perpetual contracts, and prediction markets into a single interface, allowing users to build and execute advanced trading strategies across multiple assets and multiple blockchains.
Circle partners with Nomura Securities to enter the Japanese yen foreign exchange settlement service market.
Stablecoin issuer Circle plans to collaborate with Nomura Securities to launch instant foreign currency settlement for Japanese corporate clients as early as 2027. The initiative will enable large cross-border transactions to be completed immediately, aiming to boost cross-border investment and trade. This will mark the first entry of a major stablecoin issuer into Japan’s corporate transaction market, allowing companies to convert yen into US dollar-denominated stablecoins for investment and instant transfers.
12 minutes ago
Institutions' Preview: Overview of US May Core PCE Price Index Monthly Rate
The US May core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index monthly rate will be released tonight at 20:30 (UTC+8). Below are the forecasts from multiple institutions: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation: 0.2%; Royal Bank of Canada: 0.2%; JPMorgan Chase: 0.3%; Goldman Sachs Group: 0.3%; Bank of Montreal: 0.3%; Moody's Corporation: 0.3%; Standard Chartered: 0.3%; UniCredit: 0.3%; ING Group: 0.3%; HSBC Holdings: 0.3%; BNP Paribas: 0.4%; Wells Fargo: 0.4%; Capital Economics: 0.4%; Citigroup: 0.4%; Deutsche Bank: 0.4%; Nomura Securities: 0.4%; Pantheon Macroeconomics: 0.4%; Société Générale: 0.4%; Scotiabank: 0.4%; Morgan Stanley: 0.4%
12 minutes ago
DA Davidson Raises Micron’s Price Target to $2,000, Retains Buy Rating
U.S. investment bank DA Davidson released a research note stating that Micron Technology has entered a new phase with one of the best performance visibility in the semiconductor industry, a stark contrast to its past standing in the sector. Driven by another quarter of results that handily exceeded expectations and positive forward guidance, Micron’s stock price surged sharply. These signals indicate that the current memory chip boom cycle is far from over. While the company is ramping up capacity investments (with capital expenditure (CAPEX) projected to hit $10 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, which will bring additional supply), management expects the memory market to remain tight on supply and demand at least through 2027. Against this backdrop, DA Davidson reiterated its "Buy" rating on Micron and raised its price target from $1,500 to $2,000, equivalent to a 20x price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio based on the company’s 2026 calendar year expected earnings per share (EPS).
12 minutes ago
Morgan Stanley raises Micron's price target to $1,200, maintains 'Overweight' rating.
Morgan Stanley released a report raising Micron Technology (MU.O)’s price target from $1,050 to $1,200, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. The investment bank lifted its fiscal 2027 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the chipmaker by roughly 40% to $168, and upgraded its free cash flow (FCF) projection from $104 billion to $140 billion. Aligning with Micron’s management, the bank holds that AI will push DRAM demand to consistently outpace supply significantly after 2027. Micron’s last fiscal quarter results matched this trend, with both its quarterly performance and outlook showing notable upside potential.
12 minutes ago
US officials: Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
A U.S. State Department official said Israel has withdrawn from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a "goodwill gesture" toward the Lebanese government.
12 minutes ago
CBRS trades below IPO price post-earnings: Erases all gains six weeks after listing, two smart money firms net $5.8 million from first-day IPO shorts.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, Cerebras (CBRS), the AI chip firm previously dubbed "Nvidia’s strongest challenger", saw its stock price fall in stages after reporting its first quarterly results since going public, as negative guidance overshadowed better-than-expected performance. The stock has dropped roughly 22% since the earnings release and officially broke below its IPO price today. On-chain whales are overall bearish. CBRS trades at $184 on the Hyperliquid platform, down 7.7% in 24 hours. Large-scale short positions (million-dollar level) total around $11.62 million, 2.39 times the long positions ($4.87 million). Two major short positions were placed precisely at high levels as early as the IPO day or even before the IPO: - Whale 0xe0ff: Shorted at $284.51 on May 14 with a 3x leveraged position of $6.13 million, generating an unrealized profit of $3.24 million (+104%); - Whale 0x9996: Shorted at $275.92 on May 11 with a 5x leveraged position of $5.48 million, generating an unrealized profit of $2.64 million (+162%). It is learned that both addresses currently hold short positions in both CBRS and SPCX, and have recorded substantial unrealized profits, preferring to place short positions at high levels before or on the day of major stock listings. With the realization of negative earnings news in this round, the combined unrealized profit of the two positions is around $5.88 million. Currently, the average entry price of CBRS short whales is around $275, and the current price is over 30% lower than that. The nearest short liquidation line is at $200.13, about 7% away from the current price.
The Qtum Foundation today announced the release of Qtum Ally, a new AI agent designed to advance beyond conversational bots into customizable automation tools.
Ally stands out in the crowded AI landscape by offering a focus on user control, privacy, and desktop-native execution, powered by the industry-standard Model Context Protocol (MCP). Ally gives access to 12 different LLM’s in one application, and allows the user to create powerful agents with integrated MCP servers. Users can also load their own custom models. This entire package is contained in one installable application available for Windows and Mac users.
According to Qtum Co-Founder Miguel Palencia: “With Qtum Ally, productivity isn’t about more tools, it’s about smarter orchestration. By unifying services and coordinating multiple LLM’s with MCP, we put everything at your fingertips in a single refined workspace. I challenged our team to remove the clutter and deliver compounding efficiency; Qtum Ally is the result.”
Building Powerful AI Agents with Built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) ServersQtum Ally is built to support Model Context Protocol (MCP), which is crucial for enabling AI to do things, not just answer questions. Think of MCP as the “USB-C of AI,” providing a universal interface for AI systems to integrate and share data with external tools and services.
Ally is implemented as an MCP host, designed to help users efficiently combine two or more tasks and manage them with minimal input. Unlike complex systems that required coding experience in the past, Ally enables users to:
• Automate real tasks and go beyond mere chat.
• Manage multi-step workflows.
• Utilize LLMs (like ChatGPT or DeepSeek) to use logic to control and make the MCP hosts work together, allowing the automation of practically anything you can think of. For example, Ally can find specific properties for rent, create a list, and even build the results into a PowerPoint presentation and then e-mail you the results through a series of MCP servers.
• Qtum Ally is configured to work with MCP servers and hosts, and it comes bundled with a series of MCP hosts already pre-installed, allowing users to easily add new ones themselves. These lightweight MCP servers expose specific capabilities, connecting to local or remote data sources, databases, or APIs.
Desktop Native: Control, Privacy, and PerformanceQtum Ally is released as an installed application for Windows and Mac, designed to run natively on your desktop. This offers an alternative to many remotely hosted products:
• Users can run Ally on their own system for more privacy and control.
• Qtum Ally’s design adheres to the broader Qtum vision that aims not to collect personal data. It does not collect personal information above and beyond what is already being collected by the large language models themselves.
Unlocking Premium AI Access for FreeAlly is not only free, but it also provides exceptional value by offering a collection of AI utilities supporting various LLM models including Qwen, DeepSeek, Claude, and Gemini.
For a limited period, users of Qtum Ally can access the functionality of the latest paid features from top LLMs. This includes free access to the paid portion of ChatGPT 5.
Qtum Ally can be downloaded and installed directly from the official Qtum Github repository.
About QtumLaunched in September 2017, the Qtum blockchain is a smart contract platform that blends the best parts of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The blockchain is secured by the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, and is completely decentralized. Qtum is listed on most major exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, Upbit, OKex, Huobi, etc.
Qtum has released nearly 50 software updates since launch, while including all major updates from Bitcoin and Ethereum. In March 2024, Qtum acquired a GPU farm with thousands of Nvidia cards to begin AI development. Qtum Ally is the latest release from the AI initiative, with plans to integrate the Qtum blockchain token into Ally in the near future.
For more information about Qtum’s AI plans, please visit https://qtum.ai or to download Qtum Ally click here: https://github.com/qtumproject/ai-agent/releases/tag/v0.0.6
The altcoin market has been following Bitcoin’s lead and has suffered immensely. The coins have failed to recover completely and have been undergoing a sideways movement.
Huobi Token [HT]
Source: HT/USD on Trading View
Houbi Token [HT] continued to rise up till March, however, it succumbed to the 12 March attack. The price of the asset was pushed as low as $1.7482, after which it has been trying to resurface. At press time, the value of the coin had reached $3.2535, but a bearish presence was still around as per Awesome Oscillator.
Resistance: $3.5417
Support: $2.3117
At press time
Price: $3.21
Market Cap: $727.45 million
24-hour Trading Volume: $159.34 million
Augur [REP]
Unlike other tokens, REP noticed a sudden spring in its price in January. As correction set in, its value got slashed by more than half but it is still reporting a YTD return of 2.35%. At press time, REP was being traded at $10.13 with its immediate resistance and support marked closely.
According to Bollinger Bands indicators, the market of REP appeared to be volatile as the bands diverged. The trend has switched to a bearish trend as the signal line crept under the candlesticks.
Resistance: $10.84
Support: $8.35
At press time
Price: $9.92
Market Cap: $109.16 million
24-hour Trading Volume: $23.04 million
Verge [XVG]
Unlike the ups and downs in other cryptos, the chart of Verge [XVG] appeared to be pretty simple. The year 2020 started with an upwards stride, but the price has been on a downward spiral since the fall on 15 February. At press time, the coin has been valued at $0.00247 and it reported a negative return of -39.99% in 2020.
The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has been on a development spree since the beginning of this year and has continued to push for global dominance. More recently, Binance announced the launch of Bitcoin Options trading further strengthening its hold in the derivatives market. Further, the crypto platform’s Indian expansion also catapulted its dominance in Asia.
Spot volume figures surpassed that of derivatives in March. And the winner among the top-tier exchanges was Binance trading $63.6 billion a surge of 19.2% in March.
However, it was the CoinMarketCap acquisition that shook the crypto world. US-based CMC is one of the oldest and popular crypto data site and it’s not surprising that the acquisition news left the community speculating the consequence of the deal. This not only led to massive discussions and debate but also resulted in Binance receiving the most web traffic amongst all exchanges in Q1 this year.
According to CoinGecko Q1 Report, Binance obtained a total of 66.6 million pageviews, over 4 times larger than Bithumb, Coinbase, or Upbit. Additionally, the platform accounted for over a quarter, i.e.,25%, of the top 20 exchanges web traffic, which happens to be by far the largest percentage. This was followed by the popular derivatives platform, BitMEX with roughly 15.8% of all crypto web traffic of the top 20 exchanges in Q1 2020.
The developments, however, have so far failed to charm the exchange token, BNB. Among the top-7 exchange token listed by CoinGecko, Binance Coin was the only token that flipped towards the negative side. Other exchange tokens such as OKB, Leo, Huobi Token [HT], FTT, all posted double-digit returns in Q1 with the best-performer being the Kyber Network [KNC] which surged all the way to 136%.
The positive price action and the massive returns posted by OKEx’s OKB could be attributed to the token burn earlier this year. The original supply of OKB was 1 billion tokens. However, 700 million of unissued OKB were burned by the OKEx Foundation in February this year following the launch of the OKChain TestNet.
Similar was the case with Huobi’s exchange token HT which generated around $100 million in revenue from its token burn in January 2020.
Market Wrap Crypto markets consolidating again; Binance Coin, Dash and Maker are moving, the rest slipping slowly. As widely predicted the crypto market pump was just that as things are starting to dump again today. The movements have been minor but the majority are in the red at the moment as market capitalization slips back to $120 billion.
Bitcoin did not get close to $3,700 today so new resistance levels are forming lower again. Around $3,650 seems to be its stability point for the time being but dips are not being supported and Bitcoin could drop lower, it is currently down half a percent on the day.
Ethereum has held on to second place by not moving over the past 24 hours. Still trading at $120 ETH could get some momentum from the Constantinople hard fork which has been delayed until the end of the month. XRP has lost a little more ground today and the gap between the two is currently just over $200 million.
Most of the top ten are falling back during the Asian trading session today. Tron has dropped the most despite the BTT airdrop today as TRX loses 3.5%. Bitcoin Cash is not far behind with a 3% slide. Only Binance Coin is making progress today adding another 2.5% as it closes the gap on Stellar in ninth which has dumped another 2%.
There are two big movers in the top twenty at the moment. Dash and Maker have added a further 7% on the day trading at $83 and $495 respectively. The Maker dev fund was moved to a new multisig wallet two days ago which caused the CMC market cap spike and the flipping of ETC and NEM. NEO and Zcash have also added 3.5% each to their prices over the past 24 hours but IOTA and NEM continue to slide.
There are no major pumps occurring in the top one hundred at the time of writing. Huobi Token is the best performer adding 15% followed by MOAC with a 12% rise. Getting bashed is yesterday’s pump; Quant followed by Revain both shedding 10% in predictable dumps.
Total market capitalization has not really moved overnight and is still at $120 billion. No further gains for the big cap coins look likely so further consolidation is expected in this channel for the time being. Volume is still at $20 billion and markets are still 6% higher than they were this time last week.
Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top 20 cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals
HTX, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, is leading the charge in a unique dual celebration on May 22, as Bitcoin Pizza Day coincides with the Trump Dinner.
This moment, where history meets the present, is drawing global attention. In celebration of this special occasion, HTX has proudly partnered with diamond sponsors JUST Protocol, SunPump, APENFT, BitTorrent, and WINkLink, alongside platinum sponsors Levva and ChainGPT, to launch a series of Pizza Day-themed promotions across multiple business lines, including Spot, Futures, Earn, and Community, boasting a total prize pool of nearly 1 million USDT. Whether you’re a new or existing HTX user, you’ll discover exclusive opportunities and exciting benefits throughout these events.
Event 1: HTX Pizza Day Celebration: 200,000 USDT in Surprise Gifts with Seven Project Partners Get ready for Pizza Fest! From May 13 to May 26, HTX is joining forces with seven esteemed partner projects—SunPump, APENFT, JUST Protocol, WINkLink, BitTorrent, Steem, and MEVerse—to deliver a 14-day Pizza Day Celebration packed with over 200,000 USDT in Surprise Gifts. During the event, users can claim daily gifts on the HTX App, distributed at 02:00 (UTC) daily. On May 22 at 12:00 (UTC), Bitcoin Pizza Day, HTX will drop even more Surprise Gifts featuring bigger rewards, distributed in the form of tokens, Cashback Vouchers, Futures Trial Bonuses, Margin Interest Vouchers, and APY Booster Coupons.
* View details
From May 20 at 10:00 (UTC) to May 25 at 10:00 (UTC), HTX invites both new and existing users to join the four-tiered rewards event and share a total prize pool of up to $200,000. See below for details:
1. New users who sign up and complete any spot, futures, or margin trade during the event will receive a welcome package that includes a 20 DOGE airdrop, APY Booster Coupons for SmartEarn, and Margin Interest Vouchers.
2. Users will receive 15 USDT for their first successful referral. By inviting more friends, they’ll unlock Mystery Boxes worth up to 1,500 USDT each, containing popular cryptos like $BTC, $TRUMP, and $HTX. Additionally, they can earn up to another 1,500 USDT when their invitees reach the trading volume target.
3. Eligible returning users who complete spot trading on HTX will have a chance to win BTC in a lucky draw. Additionally, after funding their USDT-M Futures account, they can earn APY Booster Coupons for SmartEarn.
4. Users who trade designated cryptos in spot or futures, or create spot grid trading strategies, will have a chance to share $30,000 in $HTX.
* View details
From May 16 at 02:00 (UTC) to May 23 at 15:59 (UTC), HTX Square is launching a quiz challenge where users can win rewards. Participants who follow HTX Square in the HTX Community and answer all the quiz questions correctly will have the opportunity to share the 200 USDT prize pool.
* View details
Event 4: HTX Earn Bonanza for BTC Pizza Day: Enjoy Up to 10% APY on Popular Assets Celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day with the HTX Earn Bonanza from 16:00:00 (UTC) on May 19 to 16:00:00 (UTC) on May 25. HTX is launching this special campaign featuring Earn products for both new and existing users. First-time subscribers at HTX Earn can enjoy New User Exclusive products with 100% APY. All users can subscribe to Fixed, Flexible, and Shark Fin products with 14 designated cryptocurrencies, including USDT, and earn up to 10% APY on HTX Earn. Additionally, participants who meet the net subscription increase requirement will each receive a 5% APY Booster Coupon for the USDT Flexible product.
* View details
Event 5: HTX Affiliates Pizza Day Special: Team Up & Trade with Your Invitees to Win a Full Case of Kweichow Moutai Celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day with the limited-time HTX Affiliates Special Event, running from 10:00 (UTC) on May 20 to 10:00 (UTC) on May 25. HTX Affiliates can refer friends to sign up using an exclusive invitation link or code and form a trading team with invitees. Once the team reaches the required trading volume, rewards will be unlocked. The top prize is a 6-bottle case of Kweichow Moutai Flying Fairy.
* View details
Event 6: HTX Convert Contest Now Live with 10,000 USDT Up for Grabs Don’t miss the HTX Convert Contest! It runs from 16:00:00 (UTC) on May 14 to 15:59:59 (UTC) on May 31. Trade designated cryptos on HTX Convert and reach a total trading volume of ≥500 USDT during the event to qualify for a share of the 5,000 USDT prize pool, with the top individual reward of up to 1,000 USDT. Complete 10 or more trades to unlock an additional prize pool — the more trades made, the bigger the share. Additionally, first-time converters on HTX Convert can also join an exclusive 2,000 USDT prize pool for new users, with up to 20 USDT per person available.
* View details
May 22 isn’t just about commemorating Bitcoin’s first “real-world transaction”; it is also a day for the global crypto community to celebrate the growth of the crypto industry and to share in its rewards. To honor this special day, HTX is launching a multifaceted celebration featuring diverse events that boost user engagement, elevate the festive atmosphere, and fully showcase the platform’s dynamic ecosystem.
Pizza’s on the table and the party’s heating up. Join HTX today and experience the biggest crypto event of the year!
About HTX Founded in 2013, HTX has evolved from a virtual asset exchange into a comprehensive ecosystem of blockchain businesses that span digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investments, incubation, and other businesses.
As a world-leading gateway to Web3, HTX harbors global capabilities that enable it to provide users with safe and reliable services. Adhering to the growth strategy of “Global Expansion, Thriving Ecosystem, Wealth Effect, Security & Compliance,” HTX is dedicated to providing quality services and values to virtual asset enthusiasts worldwide.
To learn more about HTX, please visit HTX Square or https://www.htx.com/, and follow HTX on X, Telegram, and Discord.
PANews reported on May 18th that, according to a Huobi HTX announcement, Huobi HTX reopened deposit services for ATWO at 18:00 (GMT+8) on May 18th. Spot and grid trading for ATWO/USDT will open at 20:00 (GMT+8) on May 18th. Withdrawals for ATWO will open at 20:00 (GMT+8) on May 19th. Simultaneously, Huobi Leverage will add isolated margin trading for ATWO/USDT (10X) at 20:00 (GMT+8) on May 18th.
Arena Two is a decentralized interactive platform that allows fans to play an active, tokenized role in the real-time outcome of events. Unlike traditional models that reduce fans to passive spectators, Arena Two uses blockchain to allow fans to directly vote in real time and influence the results of events.
Kepler Cheuvreux raises ASML’s European share price target from €1,460 to €1,830.
Kepler Cheuvreux has raised the target price for ASML’s European shares from €1,460 to €1,830.
5 minutes ago
Stifel: U.S. economy in "overheated expansion" as AI investment cycle outweighs consumer pressure
U.S. large diversified financial services holding company Stifel has raised its year-end S&P 500 target and rolled out a stock allocation framework for a "high-growth, high-inflation" environment. The firm lifted its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,800 points, noting the U.S. economy is entering a "running hot" state—where economic growth is strengthening alongside mounting inflationary pressure. Stifel’s models show U.S. growth momentum is picking up while inflation momentum is clearly overheating, a trend that will reshape the market’s leading sector structure in the second half of the year. Instead of traditional consumer sectors, Stifel’s top picks are investment-led cyclical industries, including banks, transportation, materials, energy, semiconductors, software and equipment. The firm adds that fixed-asset investment in AI remains on the rise: large tech firms including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google are projected to combine for roughly $725 billion in total capital expenditures in 2026, some $100 billion higher than prior estimates. This means the AI investment chain is likely to continue outperforming the consumption chain squeezed by inflation. Stifel advises investors to reduce exposure to discretionary consumer, consumer staples, communication services and some financial services sectors, as these areas see weaker earnings revisions. Conversely, the firm favors cyclical value stocks and hedges with defensive value sectors such as insurance, autos, energy and banks.
5 minutes ago
Analyst: Micron's earnings boost overall market sentiment for the tech sector
Chris Strazzeri, Financial Trading Manager of Moomoo’s Australia and New Zealand branch, stated: “The targeted sell-off indicates that following a sustained, strong rally in AI-related and speculative growth stocks, investors are enforcing strict valuation discipline. This serves as a warning to the market that actual earnings levels must now rise to support the currently overvalued price-to-earnings ratio. Micron Technology’s post-market earnings results largely confirm this, and its robust performance has lifted overall market sentiment in the tech sector.”
5 minutes ago
2x Leveraged Long DRAM ETF (RAM) Records $383 Million in Trading Volume on Its First Day of Listing
According to Bitget market data, the Roundhill T-REX 2X Long DRAM Daily Target ETF (Nasdaq ticker: RAM) officially launched trading yesterday. On its first trading day, the fund recorded a total turnover of $383 million, and rose 29.47% in after-hours U.S. stock trading to hit $30.8. Note: RAM’s underlying exposure covers companies engaged in memory-related technologies, including DRAM, NAND and storage solutions, targeting active traders seeking leveraged exposure to the memory chip theme and artificial intelligence infrastructure development.
5 minutes ago
BCA Research raises its S&P 500 target to 8,100 points, with AI remaining a core variable.
BCA Research has become the latest strategy firm to raise its US stock market target, reflecting Wall Street’s growing optimism about earnings support for US equities in the second half of the year. The institution lifted its year-end S&P 500 target from 7,700 points to 8,100 points. BCA’s core view is that first-quarter corporate earnings exceeded expectations in both strength and breadth, and the US economy has re-entered an expansion phase. Similar to JPMorgan Chase, BCA believes this stock rally is not only driven by valuation expansion—earnings themselves are delivering the index’s gains. AI remains the core variable in this assessment. Large tech firms including Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Oracle continue to increase capital spending on data centers and AI infrastructure, driving growth in orders for chips, servers, construction, power and related industrial chains. This provides a clearer fundamental basis for upward revisions to 2026 and 2027 earnings. The institution points out that risks exist: the earnings expansion brought by AI investments has already been quickly priced into the market. If subsequent returns on capital spending are questioned, or interest rates remain elevated, further upside for the index will require more earnings confirmation rather than relying solely on investor risk appetite.
5 minutes ago
Tom Lee: Markets have nearly priced in two interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year, and the rise in US Treasury yields is weighing on market sentiment.
Tom Lee said the market is still digesting Kevin Warsh’s remarks from his first press conference last week and repricing the macro environment. Over the past week, oil prices have pulled back, with war premiums contracting. Current oil prices are not far from the roughly $65 level seen before the conflict, indicating the market views related war risks as declining. On the other hand, 10-year U.S. Treasury yields continue to rise, now around 4.5%, higher than the pre-conflict level of roughly 4.2%. The main headwind the market has faced recently has shifted from oil prices to yields. Tom Lee noted that the market is not only focused on 10-year U.S. Treasury yields but also starting to price in potential additional interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. According to federal funds futures, the market is currently pricing in nearly two rate hikes this year. Bank of America further projected today that the Fed will raise rates three times this year, in September, October, and December respectively. Jeffrey Gundlach often emphasizes the importance of monitoring 2-year U.S. Treasury yields, as they typically lead the Fed and signal the central bank’s policy direction. Between 2023 and 2025, the relationship between 2-year U.S. Treasury yields and the federal funds rate indicated that the Fed’s policy was overly tight, requiring interest rate cuts. However, this relationship has recently reversed, meaning the Fed would need two rate hikes to catch up with 2-year U.S. Treasury yields. He believes that, at least for now, yields have become a headwind for the market.
PANews, June 18 – According to an announcement from HTX, HTX will open RE deposit services at 19:00 (GMT+8) on June 18. RE/USDT spot trading will open at 23:00 (GMT+8) on June 18. RE withdrawal services will open at 23:00 (GMT+8) on June 19.
It is reported that the RE protocol is a protocol related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, designed to simplify and optimize data transmission and processing on decentralized networks. By using the RE protocol, users can conduct secure transactions more efficiently while protecting privacy. Even crypto newcomers can more easily participate in this space through the RE protocol.
Stifel: U.S. economy in "overheated expansion" as AI investment cycle outweighs consumer pressure
U.S. large diversified financial services holding company Stifel has raised its year-end S&P 500 target and rolled out a stock allocation framework for a "high-growth, high-inflation" environment. The firm lifted its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,800 points, noting the U.S. economy is entering a "running hot" state—where economic growth is strengthening alongside mounting inflationary pressure. Stifel’s models show U.S. growth momentum is picking up while inflation momentum is clearly overheating, a trend that will reshape the market’s leading sector structure in the second half of the year. Instead of traditional consumer sectors, Stifel’s top picks are investment-led cyclical industries, including banks, transportation, materials, energy, semiconductors, software and equipment. The firm adds that fixed-asset investment in AI remains on the rise: large tech firms including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google are projected to combine for roughly $725 billion in total capital expenditures in 2026, some $100 billion higher than prior estimates. This means the AI investment chain is likely to continue outperforming the consumption chain squeezed by inflation. Stifel advises investors to reduce exposure to discretionary consumer, consumer staples, communication services and some financial services sectors, as these areas see weaker earnings revisions. Conversely, the firm favors cyclical value stocks and hedges with defensive value sectors such as insurance, autos, energy and banks.
1 seconds ago
Analyst: Micron's earnings boost overall market sentiment for the tech sector
Chris Strazzeri, Financial Trading Manager of Moomoo’s Australia and New Zealand branch, stated: “The targeted sell-off indicates that following a sustained, strong rally in AI-related and speculative growth stocks, investors are enforcing strict valuation discipline. This serves as a warning to the market that actual earnings levels must now rise to support the currently overvalued price-to-earnings ratio. Micron Technology’s post-market earnings results largely confirm this, and its robust performance has lifted overall market sentiment in the tech sector.”
1 seconds ago
2x Leveraged Long DRAM ETF (RAM) Records $383 Million in Trading Volume on Its First Day of Listing
According to Bitget market data, the Roundhill T-REX 2X Long DRAM Daily Target ETF (Nasdaq ticker: RAM) officially launched trading yesterday. On its first trading day, the fund recorded a total turnover of $383 million, and rose 29.47% in after-hours U.S. stock trading to hit $30.8. Note: RAM’s underlying exposure covers companies engaged in memory-related technologies, including DRAM, NAND and storage solutions, targeting active traders seeking leveraged exposure to the memory chip theme and artificial intelligence infrastructure development.
1 seconds ago
BCA Research raises its S&P 500 target to 8,100 points, with AI remaining a core variable.
BCA Research has become the latest strategy firm to raise its US stock market target, reflecting Wall Street’s growing optimism about earnings support for US equities in the second half of the year. The institution lifted its year-end S&P 500 target from 7,700 points to 8,100 points. BCA’s core view is that first-quarter corporate earnings exceeded expectations in both strength and breadth, and the US economy has re-entered an expansion phase. Similar to JPMorgan Chase, BCA believes this stock rally is not only driven by valuation expansion—earnings themselves are delivering the index’s gains. AI remains the core variable in this assessment. Large tech firms including Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Oracle continue to increase capital spending on data centers and AI infrastructure, driving growth in orders for chips, servers, construction, power and related industrial chains. This provides a clearer fundamental basis for upward revisions to 2026 and 2027 earnings. The institution points out that risks exist: the earnings expansion brought by AI investments has already been quickly priced into the market. If subsequent returns on capital spending are questioned, or interest rates remain elevated, further upside for the index will require more earnings confirmation rather than relying solely on investor risk appetite.
1 seconds ago
Tom Lee: Markets have nearly priced in two interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year, and the rise in US Treasury yields is weighing on market sentiment.
Tom Lee said the market is still digesting Kevin Warsh’s remarks from his first press conference last week and repricing the macro environment. Over the past week, oil prices have pulled back, with war premiums contracting. Current oil prices are not far from the roughly $65 level seen before the conflict, indicating the market views related war risks as declining. On the other hand, 10-year U.S. Treasury yields continue to rise, now around 4.5%, higher than the pre-conflict level of roughly 4.2%. The main headwind the market has faced recently has shifted from oil prices to yields. Tom Lee noted that the market is not only focused on 10-year U.S. Treasury yields but also starting to price in potential additional interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. According to federal funds futures, the market is currently pricing in nearly two rate hikes this year. Bank of America further projected today that the Fed will raise rates three times this year, in September, October, and December respectively. Jeffrey Gundlach often emphasizes the importance of monitoring 2-year U.S. Treasury yields, as they typically lead the Fed and signal the central bank’s policy direction. Between 2023 and 2025, the relationship between 2-year U.S. Treasury yields and the federal funds rate indicated that the Fed’s policy was overly tight, requiring interest rate cuts. However, this relationship has recently reversed, meaning the Fed would need two rate hikes to catch up with 2-year U.S. Treasury yields. He believes that, at least for now, yields have become a headwind for the market.
1 seconds ago
Japan and South Korea's stock markets closed higher across the board, with Japan's stock market hitting a new closing high.
According to Bitget market data, the Nikkei 225 index closed up 3,191.37 points, or 4.61%, at 72,366.34 points on Thursday, June 25, hitting a new all-time closing high. South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 459.76 points (5.43%) to end at 8,930.78 points; SK Hynix surged 13% while Samsung Electronics gained more than 5%.
TLDR: Justin Sun controls roughly 60 billion TRX tokens, representing 63% of the total supply in circulation. HTX acquisition allows Sun to channel user deposits into JustLend, using TRX as near-unlimited collateral. The Tron Inc. Nasdaq reverse merger lets Sun swap on-chain tokens for U.S. dollars without crashing markets. Sun’s WLFI investment created an off-exchange token swap that converts TRX exposure into tradable assets. Justin Sun’s financial maneuvers have drawn scrutiny after a detailed analysis revealed how the Tron founder may be converting illiquid TRX holdings into hard assets.
Crypto analyst Punk2898 outlined several methods Sun allegedly uses to manage his vast token reserves. Sun reportedly controls around 60 billion TRX tokens, valued at over $20 billion, but faces major liquidity challenges due to the sheer size of his position in the market.
The Mechanisms Behind Sun’s Liquidity Strategy Sun’s approach to managing TRX appears to draw lessons from the FTX collapse. According to Punk2898, FTX once held a large TRX position and could not aggressively sell it.
Instead, FTX continuously bought back TRX on secondary markets to support the price. It then used third-party platforms to collateralize the tokens and borrow stablecoins, creating a steady flow of liquid capital.
Sun’s acquisition of Huobi, now rebranded as HTX, appears to serve a similar function. Users deposit USDT into HTX expecting high-interest returns.
Those funds are reportedly channeled into Aave or JustLend to capture yield spreads. HTX then pockets the interest differential, while JustLend collateral remains largely in TRX — a token Sun controls in virtually unlimited supply.
The USDD stablecoin adds another layer to this structure. USDD is backed by 10.9 billion TRX and approximately 19.6 million USDT, supporting around 745 million USDD in circulation.
Sun uses TRX as collateral to mint USDD, which then attracts real dollar deposits through high annualized yields. This effectively turns his own tokens into a mechanism for pulling in external liquidity.
Sun’s investment in World Liberty Financial and the TRUMP memecoin also fits into this pattern. He reportedly invested over $40 million in WLFI, which then bought TRX in return.
Sun can liquidate his WLFI holdings freely, while WLFI holds TRX. The analyst described it as an off-exchange swap that heavily favors Sun’s position.
The Nasdaq Reverse Merger and Long-Term Conversion Plans The most direct conversion method came in July 2025 through a Nasdaq reverse merger involving Tron Inc. The deal essentially exchanged on-chain TRX tokens for a U.S. stock ticker.
U.S. stocks were issued to raise dollars, which were then used to buy TRX from Sun directly through over-the-counter trades.
Those TRX tokens then entered the Nasdaq company’s treasury, while the dollars went to Sun. The analyst compared this to Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin treasury strategy but with a key difference—Saylor buys existing Bitcoin, while Sun effectively creates TRX. The structure allows Sun to convert crypto holdings into Wall Street assets without crashing the open market.
Punk2898 noted that Sun’s core task, for years to come, remains converting his 60 billion illiquid TRX into Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Every strategy described feeds into that single objective. Each move builds infrastructure that slowly shifts value from TRX into harder, more widely accepted assets.
