HTX review

What HTX is

Huobi was founded in 2013. By the mid-2010s it was one of the three largest crypto exchanges globally. It held dominant market share in Asian futures and ran one of the deepest BTC/ETH order books of any exchange outside the US.

In 2022, About Capital Management — a fund linked to Tron founder Justin Sun — acquired the exchange. In September 2023, it rebranded to HTX (a combination of Huobi, Tron, and eXchange). That ownership shift is the central fact any due diligence must address before opening a position.

Current volume and open interest data for HTX are on PerpFinder.

The trading platform built under Huobi still exists and runs. What has not recovered is the competitive position. Volume that migrated to Binance, Bybit, and OKX during the ownership uncertainty of 2022 and 2023 has not returned.

HTX's liquidity on BTC and ETH perpetuals is adequate for retail-size positions. It no longer competes for large-size flow on those pairs.

Fees in detail

HTX's USDT-margined futures fee schedule starts at 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker. The 0.06% taker rate is 1 basis point above Binance and OKX, and matches Bitget at base level. VIP tiers based on 30-day trading volume compress fees for active traders. The HT legacy platform token still provides fee discounts post-rebrand.

For a $10,000 round-trip at market, HTX taker cost is $12.00 versus Binance's $10.00 and OKX's $10.00. Over 100 trades at $10k, the extra 2 basis points per round-trip versus Binance adds up to $200 in extra fees. Use the PerpFinder fee calculator to model this for your trading frequency.

Coin-margined (inverse) contracts let you post BTC or ETH directly as collateral without converting to USDT. For traders who hold BTC long-term and want a leveraged short hedge without touching stablecoins, inverse contracts handle this. HTX supports both USDT-margined linear and coin-margined inverse across its pair catalogue.

Security and proof of reserves

HTX has published Merkle tree Proof of Reserves for 43 consecutive months through May 2026. All major assets showed ratios above 100% in every report. The May 2026 snapshot confirmed BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC all fully backed above 100%.

That 43-month streak covers the entire post-acquisition period under the current ownership. Whatever the governance concerns at the entity level, user assets have been covered at every monthly snapshot.

HTX is registered in the Seychelles as its primary entity. A Lithuanian VASP covers EU users. HTX is not on the Dubai VARA public register (checked 2026-09-23). No FCA, CFTC, or MAS licenses. US and UK residents are not served.

On November 22, 2023, HTX reported a cyberattack on HTX and the HECO chain. HTX estimated that $30 million in its hot wallet was affected. It said that it would fully compensate users for hot wallet losses.

Justin Sun's other ventures — Tron (TRX), BitTorrent Token (BTT), and HTX DAO — have faced scrutiny over token distribution practices. The SEC filed charges in March 2023 alleging unregistered securities offerings and market manipulation related to these projects. Those charges are legally separate from HTX's exchange operations but share the same corporate owner.

Pro risk frameworks that score governance separately from reserve ratios will weight the ownership link materially. Retail traders in Asian markets who used Huobi for years may reasonably continue using HTX, given the platform continuity and the clean PoR record.

Leverage and pairs

300-plus perpetual pairs with 200x max leverage on select assets. On BTC/USDT, the 200x ceiling matches Gate.io. MEXC allows 500x on the same pair. Both USDT-margined linear and coin-margined inverse contracts are available. Grid trading bots and copy trading run natively. The Primelist IEO launchpad provides early-access token distributions.

Liquidity depth on long-tail altcoin pairs is thinner than on Gate.io (1,700+ pairs) or MEXC (600+ pairs), despite a similar pair count to MEXC. BTC and ETH perpetual orders at retail sizes execute without notable slippage.

For mid-cap altcoins with $50k+ notional, verify open interest before entering — HTX's mid-cap depth has declined since the pre-rebrand Huobi era.

Trading experience

HTX's interface has been updated since the rebrand but retains the structural layout from the Huobi era. Futures traders who used Huobi pre-2022 will find the navigation familiar. TradingView charting, standard order types (limit, market, stop-limit, conditional), and a configurable order panel are all present.

The Primelist IEO launchpad provides early token distributions through staking allocations. Tokens from Primelist listings often receive HTX futures contracts within days of IEO completion — giving early participants both a spot allocation and a futures market to hedge against.

That tight integration between launchpad and futures listing is more developed at HTX than at MEXC, and on par with Gate.io's Startup program.

How it compares

HTX vs MEXC: HTX allows 200x and MEXC 500x on BTC/USDT, and both list 300+ pairs. MEXC has a zero maker fee versus HTX's 0.02%, and more total pairs (600+). HTX has a longer track record (2013 vs 2018) and better BTC/ETH order book depth at current volume levels. On governance, MEXC is meaningfully cleaner.

HTX vs Gate.io: Gate.io has a similar founding year, broader pair count (1,700+), and better overall legal registration depth. HTX's coin-margined (inverse) contract range is stronger than Gate.io's. Use the cost comparison tool to compare execution costs directly, and weigh the governance differential based on your balance size and holding period.

Who HTX is for

Traders in Asian markets with existing Huobi accounts who find the current HTX platform functional: the system persists, withdrawals work, and the PoR record is clean.

Traders who want 200x leverage with coin-margined inverse contracts and a longer platform track record than MEXC: HTX's 2013 founding and 43 consecutive PoR reports address that specific need. MEXC launched in 2018 and offers a zero maker fee but does not match HTX's history.

Traders evaluating HTX fresh, without prior Huobi history: the governance opacity and Justin Sun link are party risk factors that 43 months of reserves and a 2013 founding year do not neutralize on their own. Binance, Bybit, and OKX offer comparable or better liquidity with substantially cleaner governance histories.