The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on 18 entities and individuals accused of helping Russia evade Western restrictions and finance its war in Ukraine, including crypto exchange Huobi and the issuer of a ruble-linked stablecoin.
Among those targeted are Huobi Global S.A., operator of the HTX exchange, and Open Joint Stock Company 'Virtual Asset Issuer,' a Kyrgyzstan-linked firm behind the USDKG gold-backed stablecoin. The sanctions also hit the Kremlin-backed A7 payments network, which British officials say processed more than $90 billion last year, including proceeds from Russian oil sales.
For the first time, the U.K. applied banking-style sanctions rules to crypto exchanges under Regulation 17A, a tool previously used against sanctioned banks. Under the new measures, U.K. financial firms and crypto service providers must freeze assets and trace blockchain transactions linked to the designated entities - even across multiple transaction 'hops.'
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said HTX provided services to both the A7 network and Garantex, a Russian exchange previously sanctioned by Western authorities. Garantex rebranded to Grinex earlier this year but halted operations last month after a $13 million 'state-backed' hack.
Industry analysts say other regulators are likely to watch closely as Britain tests a new model for applying traditional financial sanctions rules to digital asset markets. The sanctions took effect immediately.