Enhanced Compliance on 16 Entities
Bitget announced that it is adopting new compliance measures regarding payments to 16 designated entities, including HTX and EXMO, due to increased focus by US and European regulatory agencies. Bitget said that the new measures will apply to payments to the entities, as the sanctions taken by Western regulators are co-terminus.
This is part of a growing trend of large, international cryptocurrency exchanges to enhance compliance frameworks for international sanctions. Bitget’s move mirrors a similar recent initiative by Binance, and others, indicating that the industry is changing to meet the demands of more stringent regulatory measures.
Bitget Announces a Three-Wave Restriction Timeline
According to an official Bitget announcement of August 15, restrictions will be taken against 16 different entities in three separate restriction waves.
The first wave was put in place on August 7 and included Aban Tether Exchange and Shelbit (Shelbit General Trading LLC). These restrictions were implemented under relevant US sanctions.
The second wave was put in place on August 13 and included A7 Africa, A7 Nigeria, and PilotFinance Ltd.
The third and final wave, which is the largest of the three, will be implemented on August 23 against ABCeX, Aifory Pro, BitPapa, EXMO Ltd, Exnode, Exnode Pay, HTX (Huobi Global SA), Monease Ltd, NoOnecrypto INC., Rapira, Tradex, and WhiteBird.
Bitget stated that such payments will attract additional reviews, is likely to be rejected, may result in account restrictions or outright termination of accounts for violation of the platform’s terms and conditions.
Bitget Implements Additional Compliance Measures For User Transactions
Bitget advises customers to thoroughly verify the source of transactions and intermediary service providers. crypto transactions that touch restricted entities will incur additional scrutiny.
The exchange stated that customers must ensure transactions do not involve sanctioned organizations or services under the purview of regulatory actions.
The list of compliance measures shows that centralized exchanges are expediting transaction monitoring to lower their exposure to regulatory and sanctions violations.
Binance Implements Similar Restrictions
Bitget’s announcement is close on the heels of Binance’s similar restrictions for HTX, EXMO, and other services.
Both exchanges have given restriction dates of August 7, August 13, and August 23, for overlapping entities. The common time frames for actions may reflect that major crypto exchanges are responding to similar or harmonized regulatory directives.
The consequences will include increased compliance burdens on users and restriction of liquidity for services affected.
Regulatory Background Of The Restrictions
The first two restriction phases are linked to the US OFAC sanctions of August 7, 2022. The sanctions named two cryptocurrency service providers that allegedly assisted in conducting cryptocurrency transactions for Iranian sanctions evasion.
The August 23 restrictions are related to the 21st package of Russia sanctions imposed by the European Union in July 2026. This package named HTX (Huobi Global) and EXMO alongside the associated services.
Regulators said these sanctions could help facilitate Russia-related transactions.
HTX Disputes certain Sanctions
HTX contradicts some of the sanctions-related events. Justin Sun believes the restrictions affect only United Kingdom and EU members, and HTX does not operate in those regions.
The exchange has previously said sanctions against Huobi Global SA affect a separate legal entity, and would not affect the HTX platform or the customer funds.
However, the UK regulators said the sanctions on Huobi Global affect the HTX exchange as they control and own the exchange platform.
Market Impact and Forecast
The restrictions may lead to temporary issues regarding liquidity, arbitrages, and connectivity related to the affected platforms. Traders who use different exchanges will have to assess the trade paths to avoid violating the law.
In the meantime, exchanges that have developed their compliance systems may reap additional benefits from increased activity as market players shift their activity to more regulated platforms.
The crypto space will likely witness more collaborations between major exchanges and regulators. A focus will be on monitoring the trading activities of affected exchanges such as HTX and EXMO.
