“Can a globally sanctioned and rebranded crypto exchange rebuild regulatory legitimacy while scaling embedded crypto-financial services across non-Western markets?”
Founded in 2013 in Beijing as a spot cryptocurrency exchange, Huobi grew into one of the world's largest crypto trading platforms. Following regulatory pressure in China and global markets, the exchange relocated operations offshore and rebranded to HTX after its acquisition by About Capital Management circa 2023. The platform expanded into crypto-backed lending, a European debit card via Solarisbank, and C2C margin products — building out embedded finance features around its exchange core. By 2026, HTX faced escalating regulatory action: an FCA lawsuit for illegal UK promotion and a UK Russia-sanctions designation that froze assets and banned UK correspondent banking access, severely curtailing its Western market reach.
Huobi discloses Solarisbank as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Huobi does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Solarisbank.
Huobi's cards are issued through Solarisbank.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Huobi's stack: Banking / BaaS (Solarisbank); Card issuing (Solarisbank); Lending (Huobi Lending (crypto-backed OTC lending for institutional investors and HNWIs), C2C Lending (peer-to-peer crypto lending/margin platform), C2C Margin (sub-module of C2C Lending for margin traders) and Pledged lending dynamic interest rate product (USDT/BTC/ETH collateral)).
Huobi is founded in 2013 and headquartered in Panama (registered as Huobi Global S.A.); previously Beijing, China.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Huobi and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.