Bitget has tightened its sanctions compliance policy again. In a notice posted by its Chinese-language official account at 7:56 p.m. Taipei time on Oct. 16, the exchange said it will reject any deposit or withdrawal that directly involves certain sanctioned trading platforms and related entities, terminate the account involved, and stop providing services to that user.
The change marks another step up from the enhanced scrutiny Bitget applied in mid-August to 16 entities. In the earlier version, the wording said such activity could potentially lead to account termination. In the latest notice, Bitget said deposits and withdrawals that directly involve listed entities will be rejected and the account will be terminated.
List expanded to 20 entries with additions tied to October UK sanctions action
According to the notice, Bitget kept the entities named in its August version: Aban Tether Exchange, Shelbit, A7 Africa, A7 Nigeria, PilotFinance, ABCeX, Aifory Pro, BitPapa, EXMO, Exnode, HTX (Huobi Global SA), Monease, NoOnecrypto, Rapira, Tradex, and WhiteBird. It also added Tokenspot CJSC, Xeltox Enterprises listed under the domains cryptomus.com and heleket.com, and BitBank3 (bitbank.com).
The newly added names line up with the UK’s latest sanctions action. According to a compilation by blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, the UK Foreign Office on Oct. 8 designated 38 targets under Russia sanctions regulations, including Xeltox Enterprises, the parent company of Cryptomus and Heleket, and TokenSpot, an exchange based in Kyrgyzstan. TRM said TokenSpot was assessed to be a front company for sanctioned exchange Grinex. Bitget’s notice did not explain the sanctions basis for adding BitBank3.
Indirect links can also trigger reviews or restrictions
Bitget said the policy is not limited to direct transactions. If a user’s source of funds, sending or receiving address, or any intermediary platform or service provider used in the transaction is connected to a listed entity, the transaction may be subject to further review or rejected. During the review period, account functions including deposits, withdrawals, and trading may be temporarily restricted. The account may also be terminated for violating the Terms of Service.
The exchange added that the list is for reference only and is neither complete nor fixed. It said the list may be adjusted from time to time based on sanctions list updates, regulatory requirements, and risk assessments, without separate notice for each change. Users were told to confirm their fund routes before making deposits or withdrawals.
HTX has been under exchange scrutiny since May
This is not the first time HTX-related transfers have drawn compliance attention across exchanges. According to CoinDesk, after the UK placed HTX on a sanctions list in May over alleged assistance in helping Russia evade sanctions, Binance, OKX, Bybit, and Bitget all issued notices tightening reviews of related transfers. HTX said at the time that the sanctioned Huobi Global S.A. was a different entity from the online HTX exchange.
The Crypto Times also reported that a set of Bitget restrictions that took effect on Aug. 23 was linked to the European Union’s 21st round of sanctions on Russia passed in July, and Binance moved on a similar timeline.
The latest measure means users who have fund flows involving sanctioned platforms may face account restrictions even if their involvement is indirect. As the UK and the EU continue to widen sanctions targeting Russia-related crypto infrastructure, exchanges are broadening their screening lists as well.