HTX Review 2026: Hands-On Testing of Fees, Security and the Huobi Legacy
Htx
htx.comBest for cheap BTC withdrawals and altcoin hunters
- 700+ cryptocurrencies — wide altcoin selection with fast listings for trending tokens
- 38 months of audited Proof of Reserves — verified by Mazars and Hacken, one of longest records in crypto
- $250M BitGo insurance — plus 20,000 BTC Security Reserve Fund since 2018
- Cheapest BTC withdrawals — ~0.000016 BTC, roughly 12x cheaper than Binance
- 200x futures leverage — matched only by MEXC and Bybit among top exchanges
- Zero-fee P2P trading — 45+ fiat currencies across 90+ payment methods
- Spot fees double industry standard — 0.20% vs 0.10% at Binance, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin
- Two 2023 security incidents — $7.9M (recovered) and ~$100M HECO Bridge (Lazarus Group, not recovered)
- Justin Sun governance questions — officially "advisor," identified as de facto owner by Bloomberg
- Limited tier-1 regulation — no major Western licenses, UK FCA lawsuit October 2025
- Trustpilot 1.3/5 — 89% one-star reviews, account freeze and withdrawal complaints
- Mobile app below peers — 3.7/5 iOS, 3.4/5 Android (vs 4.4-4.6 for Binance/Bybit)
HTX is a top-10 centralized crypto exchange founded in 2013 as Huobi, rebranded after Justin Sun's 2022 acquisition. It serves 55+ million users across 160+ countries with 700+ listed cryptocurrencies, 200x futures leverage, and one of the longest Proof of Reserves track records in the industry — 38 consecutive months audited by Mazars and Hacken. We tested registration, fees, deposits, trading, and withdrawals end-to-end before writing this review.
6.0 / 10 — functional and feature-rich, but spot fees double industry standard and 2023 security record warrants caution.
- Best for: Altcoin hunters, futures traders using high leverage, frequent BTC withdrawers, P2P users in regions where HTX operates
- Skip if: You primarily trade spot (fees 2x industry standard), prioritize regulatory certainty, or plan to hold significant funds long-term
- Standout: 38 months of audited Proof of Reserves, ~$2 BTC withdrawals, 700+ coins with fast listings
- Watch out: Two 2023 hacks (one fully recovered, one not), Justin Sun governance questions, no tier-1 regulation
Not sure if HTX fits your case? Use our exchange finder — answer 4 quick questions and we'll match you with the best fit based on your goals, fees, and trading style.
Fees — what you'll actually pay
Here's where HTX has its biggest competitive weakness. Base spot fees are 0.20% maker / 0.20% taker — twice the industry standard. Binance, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, and Bitget all charge 0.10%. On a $1,000 spot trade, you pay $2 on HTX vs $1 elsewhere. Holding $HTX tokens unlocks a 25% discount, bringing effective fees to 0.15% — still above peers.
Futures fees are competitive: 0.02% maker / 0.06% taker, in line with Binance and Bybit, with a path to 0% maker at top VIP tiers (~$1.8B 30-day volume).
| Exchange | Spot Maker / Taker | Futures Maker / Taker | BTC withdrawal | Token discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HTX | 0.20% / 0.20% | 0.02% / 0.06% | ~0.000016 BTC (~$2) | 25% ($HTX) |
| Binance | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.05% | 0.0002 BTC (~$25) | 25% (BNB) |
| OKX | 0.08% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.05% | 0.0002 BTC (~$25) | up to 40% (OKB) |
| Bybit | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.055% | ~0.0002 BTC | none |
| KuCoin | 0.10% / 0.10% | 0.02% / 0.06% | ~0.0005 BTC (~$60) | 20% (KCS) |
| MEXC | 0% / 0.05% | 0% / 0.02% | ~0.0002 BTC | 50% (MX) |
Where HTX wins on fees: withdrawals. The ~0.000016 BTC native withdrawal fee is the lowest among top exchanges — roughly 12x cheaper than Binance. ETH on ERC-20 costs ~0.0021 ETH, USDT on TRC-20 is 1 USDT, and on BEP-20 around 0.3-0.5 USDT. For frequent withdrawers, this offsets some of the spot fee disadvantage.
Security — track record and current state
HTX's recent security history is a more honest guide than its feature list. 2023 was a damaging year with two significant incidents.
September 2023: Attackers drained 4,999 ETH (~$7.9M) from a hot wallet via a compromised private key. The full amount was recovered on October 7, 2023 after HTX offered a 5% white-hat bounty. No users lost funds.
November 2023: The HECO cross-chain bridge was exploited for ~$86.6M, with an additional ~$12M drained from HTX hot wallets in the same window. The attack is attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Funds were laundered through Tornado Cash and not recovered. Justin Sun pledged user compensation from company reserves. HTX experienced ~$258M in net outflows in the weeks after the hack — a signal of significant trust damage.
Earlier issues compound the picture: between June 2021 and June 2023, HTX (then Huobi) inadvertently exposed AWS credentials in an open S3 bucket for two years, granting write access to all 315 of the company's buckets before discovery. Separately, four former employees planted trojan code in the iToken wallet software, compromising 40,000+ user mnemonic phrases. All received three-year prison sentences.
What HTX does well on security:
- 38 consecutive months of Proof of Reserves audited by Mazars Group and Hacken — one of the longest records in the industry
- $250M BitGo custodial insurance covering held assets
- 20,000 BTC Security Reserve Fund first established in 2018
- 90-98% cold storage with multi-signature withdrawal approval
- CER.live AA security rating (86/100)
HTX has not had a publicly reported security breach since November 2023 — over two years clean. But the 2023 events, the pattern of private-key compromises, and the limited regulatory oversight make HTX a higher-risk choice than Binance, OKX, or Bybit for storing significant funds.
Justin Sun and governance questions
Justin Sun's official title at HTX is "Global Advisor" and "Member of the Global Advisory Board." In practice, multiple independent sources — including Bloomberg's August 2025 reporting and documents shared by Sun himself during legal proceedings — identify him as the de facto owner following his late-2022 acquisition of Huobi. Sun sued Bloomberg in 2025 to block ownership reporting.
Sun's history includes an SEC case filed March 2023 for alleged unregistered TRX/BTT offerings and wash trading; the case was dropped in February 2025 after a $10M settlement. In October 2025, the UK FCA sued HTX in the High Court for promoting crypto services to UK consumers without authorization.
None of this affects day-to-day trading directly. But for users evaluating where to hold significant funds, governance opacity is a legitimate concern.
Verification, deposits, and getting started
Registration takes about 5 minutes via email or phone. HTX allows limited trading without KYC (withdrawal capped at 0.06 BTC/day), but Level 2 verification (government photo ID) is required for most meaningful use — unlocking up to 200 BTC/day in withdrawals.
KYC tiers:
- Unverified: Email/phone only, 0.06 BTC/day withdrawal limit
- Level 1: Name, DOB, ID number — deposits and withdrawals unlocked
- Level 2: Government photo ID — up to 200 BTC/day
- Level 3: Face scan + proof of address — up to 3,000 BTC/day
Level 2 verification typically processes in under an hour during normal load.
Deposit options:
- Crypto: 700+ coins, free deposits, instant after blockchain confirmations
- Card (Visa/Mastercard): Via Alchemy Pay, Banxa, Mercuryo, Simplex — 2-4% fees
- Bank transfer: SEPA (EUR), Faster Payments (GBP), SWIFT (USD), PIX (BRL)
- P2P trading: 45+ fiat currencies, 90+ payment methods, 0% platform fee
Withdrawals process within minutes for most cryptos. Internal HTX-to-HTX transfers via Fast Withdrawal are free and instant.
What HTX does better than competitors
Cheapest BTC withdrawals among major exchanges
HTX's ~0.000016 BTC native withdrawal fee is roughly 12x cheaper than Binance and OKX (both 0.0002 BTC). For users who frequently move BTC off-exchange — to cold storage, to other platforms, or to pay vendors — this saves real money. Withdrawing 1 BTC monthly costs ~$24/year on HTX vs ~$300/year on Binance.
700+ cryptocurrencies with fast altcoin listings
HTX lists more coins than most major peers (Binance ~400, OKX ~350, KuCoin ~700, Bybit ~1,000, MEXC ~3,000). New tokens often appear faster than at tier-1 exchanges, attracting traders hunting early-stage projects. Trade-off: many of these tokens carry meaningful liquidation risk and lose 70-90% within 6 months of listing.
38 months of audited Proof of Reserves
HTX has published Merkle Tree PoR monthly for 38 consecutive months — one of the longest unbroken records in the industry. Reports are audited by both Mazars Group and Hacken. Users can verify individual inclusion using a unique hash. Total verified reserves stand at approximately $5.44B as of April 2026. This is meaningful institutional discipline that compares favorably even to Bitget (self-audited) or some larger competitors.
Zero-fee P2P trading
P2P supports 45+ fiat currencies and 90+ payment methods with 0% platform fees — you only pay the price spread. For users in regions with limited fiat-on-ramp options, this is among the best P2P infrastructure in crypto.
200x futures leverage
Matched only by MEXC and Bybit. Most major exchanges cap at 100-125x. For experienced derivatives traders this is meaningful; for beginners it's a fast path to liquidation.
Where HTX falls short
Spot fees are double industry standard. 0.20% vs 0.10% at every major peer. Even with the 25% $HTX discount, effective fees (0.15%) remain above competitors. For active spot traders, this compounds quickly — trading $10,000/month costs ~$120/year extra in fees vs Binance.
Two security incidents in 2023. $7.9M recovered, ~$100M not. The HECO bridge funds were laundered by Lazarus Group. Net outflows of $258M in the weeks after demonstrated significant trust damage. Two years clean since then is positive, but the history matters.
Limited tier-1 regulation. No major Western licenses (no US, UK, Singapore, Japan, or Hong Kong authorization). The October 2025 UK FCA lawsuit reflects this gap. Compared to Binance (multiple EU licenses, Dubai VARA) or OKX (Dubai, Hong Kong), HTX's regulatory posture is weaker.
Trustpilot 1.3/5 from 80 reviews — 89% one-star. Common complaints: frozen accounts, blocked withdrawals pending review, scripted first-tier support. For context, most large exchanges score 1.3-1.8 on Trustpilot — angry users dominate review sites — but HTX sits at the low end of that range.
Mobile app ratings below peers. 3.7/5 iOS, 3.4/5 Android, vs 4.4-4.6 for Binance, Bybit, OKX. Functionally complete, but reportedly laggy during volatile periods.
How HTX compares to alternatives
| If you care most about... | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest BTC withdrawal fees | HTX or Bitget | Both ~$1-2 vs $25+ at Binance/OKX |
| Wide altcoin selection | MEXC > HTX > KuCoin | 3,000+ vs 700+ vs 760 |
| Lowest spot trading fees | MEXC | 0% maker, 0.05% taker (HTX is 2x more) |
| Liquidity & fiat on-ramps | Binance | Highest volume globally, broadest fiat support |
| Strict regulatory fit | Binance or OKX | Multiple tier-1 licenses (HTX has minimal Western regulation) |
| Long Proof of Reserves history | HTX | 38 months, audited by Mazars and Hacken |
Bottom line
HTX earns 6.0/10 from us. The platform delivers genuine value through cheap BTC withdrawals, broad altcoin access, long Proof of Reserves discipline, and zero-fee P2P. The 12+ year operating history (as Huobi and now HTX) carries real weight.
The drawbacks are equally real. Spot fees double the industry standard, two 2023 hacks (one with $100M unrecovered), Justin Sun governance questions, limited tier-1 regulation, and a UK FCA lawsuit in 2025 mean HTX warrants more due diligence than most top-10 alternatives.
HTX makes sense as a secondary account — for altcoin access, futures with high leverage, P2P, or cheap BTC withdrawals. For most users it's a weaker primary choice than Binance, OKX, or Bybit.
Want to see if HTX matches your trading style? Use our exchange finder — answer 4 questions about your goals, fee sensitivity, and trading volume. We'll show you the top 3 exchanges that fit your profile.
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Frequently asked questions
Is HTX safe in 2026?
HTX has not had a publicly reported breach since November 2023. The platform maintains 90-98% cold storage, $250M BitGo insurance, a 20,000 BTC Security Reserve Fund, and 38 months of audited Proof of Reserves. However, two 2023 hacks (one with $100M lost to Lazarus Group), an AWS credentials leak, and limited Western regulation mean HTX warrants more caution than peers like Binance or OKX.
Is HTX the same as Huobi?
Yes. HTX is Huobi, rebranded September 13, 2023 following Justin Sun's 2022 acquisition. All accounts, balances, and trading history carried over. The HTX name combines Huobi heritage, TRON ecosystem integration, and the 10-year anniversary marker.
What are HTX trading fees?
Spot fees are 0.20% maker / 0.20% taker — double the industry standard. Holding $HTX tokens provides a 25% discount, bringing effective fees to 0.15%. Futures fees are competitive at 0.02% maker / 0.06% taker. BTC withdrawals are the cheapest among major exchanges at ~0.000016 BTC.
Has HTX been hacked?
Yes, twice in 2023. In September, $7.9M was stolen from a hot wallet and fully recovered after a white-hat bounty. In November, the HECO Bridge was exploited for ~$100M; those funds were laundered through Tornado Cash by Lazarus Group and not recovered. HTX compensated affected users from company reserves.
Does Justin Sun own HTX?
Officially, Justin Sun is HTX's "Global Advisor." In practice, Bloomberg's August 2025 reporting and documents shared by Sun during legal proceedings identify him as the de facto owner following his late-2022 acquisition of Huobi. Sun has publicly disputed this framing.
Is HTX available in my country?
HTX operates in 160+ countries but is restricted in several major markets including the US, UK (retail derivatives), Canada, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, mainland China, plus all sanctioned countries. Check the registration page on HTX to confirm your country before depositing.
