MEXC is our top pick among HTX alternatives, on a base spot taker fee of 0.0500% against HTX's 0.2000% and monthly proof of reserves with a named independent auditor.
OKX, Binance, Bybit, KuCoin and Gate are the other credible options.
The reason to compare them changed in 2026, because HTX now sits under both UK and EU sanctions measures.
Key Takeaways
MEXC is our top pick among HTX alternatives, charging 0.0500% spot taker against HTX's 0.2000% at the entry tier.
On a $10,000 spot taker order that is $5 on MEXC against $20 on HTX, before either platform's token discount.
The UK designated Huobi Global S.A. on 26 May 2026, and OFSI has since stated that the HTX exchange itself is covered.
The EU added HTX to its transaction ban list on 23 July 2026, with effect from 23 August 2026.
HTX rejects the allegations and says the designated entity is separate from the online exchange.
Readers in the US, UK, Canada, the EU and the EEA should treat this as information only, because MEXC does not serve those markets.
For most of its life the argument about HTX was about fees and listings.
That argument is now secondary.
Between May and August 2026, the UK designated the entity behind the exchange under its Russia sanctions regime and the EU added the platform to a transaction ban that took effect on 23 August.
Binance said on 14 August that it would stop processing deposits and withdrawals involving HTX and ten other platforms from 23 August, with affected transfers held for compliance review.
The detail of all of that sits further down this page, because the practical question comes first.
If you are an HTX user outside the restricted markets, you are looking at a venue where transfers now carry review risk, order books have thinned, and the entry-tier trading cost was already the highest in its peer group.
That is a solvable problem, and the rest of this section is about where to solve it.
HTX's core audience has always been altcoin and derivatives traders who want breadth of listings without paying top-tier exchange prices.
That is the group MEXC is built for, and the case rests on things that are checkable rather than promised: what a trade costs at the entry tier, what the platform publishes about its reserves, and whether the assets you traded on HTX are actually listed.
HTX charges 0.2000% maker and 0.2000% taker on spot at Prime 0, its standard tier.
MEXC charges 0.0000% maker and 0.0500% taker on spot, dropping to 0.0400% taker with the MX deduction enabled, which applies a 20% discount.
Both platforms offer a native-token discount, and HTX's HT or TRX deduction takes 25% off its spot rate.
Here is what that difference costs on a single order.
On a $10,000 spot taker order at the entry tier, HTX charges $20 and MEXC charges $5.
With each platform's token deduction applied, HTX charges $15 and MEXC charges $4.
Scale that to a trader doing $20,000 of taker volume a month, which is still inside both platforms' base tiers, and the annual bill is $480 on HTX against $120 on MEXC.
The gap narrows as volume climbs, but it does not close.
HTX's Prime 3 tier brings its spot rate to 0.1000% maker and 0.1000% taker, which is still double MEXC's base taker rate.
The maker side is where the structural difference lives.
A trader who works limit orders pays nothing to add liquidity on MEXC's spot book, while the same behaviour on HTX costs 0.2000% at the entry tier and 0.1000% at Prime 3.
MEXC publishes monthly proof of reserves built on Merkle-tree verification, with each monthly snapshot independently audited by the blockchain security firm Hacken.
The August 2026 report, published on 14 August, put the BTC reserve ratio at 288% with all major assets above 100%.
MEXC also runs a Guardian Fund, currently $100 million held in a combination of USDT and BTC, with the wallet addresses publicly disclosed so the balance can be checked on-chain, and a futures insurance fund reported at 751 million USDT at its latest disclosure.
Our full breakdown of how those protections work sits in Is MEXC Safe.
Cost only matters if the assets you trade are actually listed.
MEXC lists more than 3,000 digital assets, and it has extended perpetuals beyond crypto into tokenised stock and commodity contracts, including TSLAUSDT, GOLD(XAU)USDT and OIL(WTI)USDT.
MEXC does not serve users in the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada, and it exited the European Economic Area following the MiCA transition deadline of 1 July 2026.
MEXC holds no MiCA authorisation and appears on ESMA's register of non-compliant entities, following a decision by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets in September 2025.
MEXC also appears on Japan's Financial Services Agency list of unregistered crypto-asset exchange operators, with entries dated March 2023 and November 2024.
Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority issued an investor alert concerning MEXC in March 2026 and a notice of fines in June 2026.
If you are in any of those jurisdictions, the recommendation above is not for you, and the regional section further down explains what to do instead.
Platform | Spot maker | Spot taker | Perpetual maker | Perpetual taker | Native token discount |
MEXC | 0.00% | 0.05% | 0.000% to 0.040% | 0.000% to 0.100% | MX, 20% off |
OKX | 0.08% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.05% | OKB tiers |
Binance | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.05% | BNB, 25% off |
Bybit | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.06% | VIP tiers |
KuCoin | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.06% | KCS, about 20% off |
Gate | 0.1000% to 0.2000% | 0.1000% to 0.2000% | 0.015% to 0.020% | 0.05% | GT tiers |
HTX | 0.20% | 0.20% | 0.02% | 0.06% | HT or TRX, 25% off |
Data verified as of 1 September 2026 against each platform's official fee schedule. Entry tier, before token deductions. MEXC's perpetual figures are the published platform-wide range across pairs; pair-specific special rates run lower, with BTCUSDT at 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker. Gate's range reflects a discrepancy between two of its own published sources, one giving a worked example at 0.1% and another stating 0.20% for its entry tier.
We have deliberately left listed-asset counts out of this table.
Third-party trackers disagree wildly on them, quoting figures for the same exchange in the same quarter that differ by a factor of two, and most platforms do not publish a stable official count.
Where a first-party figure exists we give it in the platform notes below, and where it does not we describe coverage instead of inventing a number.
Choosing the dimensions is most of the work in a comparison like this.
Reserve disclosure splits into three things that are often collapsed into one: what method the platform uses, whether an independent assessor signs off, and whether there is a separate protection fund you can verify on-chain.
Platform | Method | Named independent assessor | Cadence |
MEXC | Merkle tree | Hacken | Monthly |
OKX | Merkle tree with zk-STARKs | Hacken | Monthly |
Bybit | Merkle tree | Hacken | Monthly |
KuCoin | Merkle tree | Hacken | Monthly |
Binance | Merkle tree with zk-SNARKs | Self-published, no full independent audit | Monthly |
Gate | Merkle tree | None identified in this check | Monthly |
HTX | Merkle tree | None named in its public reports | Monthly |
Data verified as of 1 September 2026 against each platform's published proof-of-reserves material. A proof-of-reserves report is a point-in-time attestation, not a full financial audit.
Where HTX is the outlier is that its published reserve reports do not name an independent assessor, which is a different question from whether the reserves are there.
MEXC publishes this article and MEXC is one of the platforms ranked in it, so our position belongs on the page rather than between the lines.
Our verdict is narrow on purpose.
MEXC is our top pick for one specific reader: an HTX user outside the restricted markets who trades altcoins at the entry fee tier.
For that reader the cost case is arithmetic, not opinion, and the reserve reporting names its auditor.
There are three things we are not claiming, and each of them cuts against us.
An independent audit is not our differentiator.
Hacken audits four of the seven platforms in this comparison, including OKX, Bybit and KuCoin, so pointing at a third-party assessor proves membership of a group rather than leadership of it.
What is genuinely ours on this axis is the reserve ratio level and the Guardian Fund with publicly disclosed addresses.
We do not win on perpetuals at the standard tier.
MEXC publishes a platform-wide perpetual range rather than a single rate, and the top of that range sits above every other venue here.
Our advantage is on spot, and a trader whose volume is mostly perpetuals should price the specific pairs they trade rather than take a headline number from anyone, us included.
HTX has published proof of reserves for longer than we have.
HTX reports a run beginning in late 2022 and reaching 44 consecutive months by June 2026, while MEXC's programme launched on 22 February 2023.
That is a real gap and it belongs on the record.
We also left listed-asset counts out of the comparison table, which removes a number that would have flattered us, because we could not verify it to the standard the rest of this page uses.
Readers should weigh all of the above knowing that we have a commercial interest in the recommendation, and should check the linked primary sources rather than take our summary of them.
This section is the evidence behind the opening.
On 26 May 2026 the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office added 18 entries to the UK Sanctions List under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Entry 18 is HUOBI GLOBAL S.A., a Panama-registered company, listed under unique ID RUS3619.
The listed name variations include HTX (formerly Huobi) and HTX Exchange, and the entry gives htx.com as the associated website. On 29 May 2026 OFSI published FAQ 186, stating that it considers the HTX exchange itself subject to UK financial sanctions because Huobi holds more than 50% of its shares under regulation 7(2)(a). The measures imposed are an asset freeze, trust services sanctions, a director disqualification sanction, internet services sanctions and a prohibition on correspondent banking and payment processing.
The UK's stated reasons are that there are reasonable grounds to suspect the company provided financial services or made economic resources available to A7 Limited Liability Company and to Garantex Europe OU.
The Council of the European Union adopted its 21st package of restrictive measures against Russia on 23 July 2026.
The distinction matters for anyone still holding a balance.
This is a transaction ban rather than an asset freeze, so no balance is confiscated, but EU persons and companies are prohibited from transacting with the platform from the effective date.
A narrow route out exists for individuals.
Natural persons who are nationals of an EU member state, the EEA or Switzerland, or who hold residence permits there, may apply to their national competent authority for permission to withdraw funds or close an account, and that request must be made within three months of the ban taking effect.
Companies are not covered by that route.
HTX rejects the UK's allegations.
The exchange has said publicly that Huobi Global S.A., the designated entity, is distinct from the online HTX exchange, and that the designation should not affect the platform, as reported by CoinDesk on 27 May 2026. Justin Sun, who acquired a controlling stake in the exchange in 2022, has separately said that HTX does not conduct business in the UK or the EU and that settlement talks with regulators in both regions are under way.
Those positions are unresolved rather than settled, and readers should weigh them alongside the designations rather than instead of them.
The second-order effect is the one most traders actually feel.
In a notice dated 14 August 2026, Binance said it would stop processing deposits and withdrawals involving 11 platforms from 23 August, HTX among them, with affected transactions held for compliance review and associated wallets potentially restricted during that review.
Binance's public notice does not itself state a regional limit, referring instead to compliance with the requirements of jurisdictions where it operates.
Justin Sun said on 14 August that Binance had clarified the restrictions apply only to its UK and EU users.
Both statements are on the record and they have not been reconciled publicly.
HTX disputes that characterisation, telling reporters the activity reflects routine, security-driven platform operations common across the industry.
The practical consequence for an ordinary user is worth stating plainly.
A withdrawal from a newly created address can therefore be harder for a receiving venue to attribute, which is the practical reason compliance reviews have become more likely.
What you used on HTX | Closest equivalent | Note |
Spot trading, broad altcoin book | MEXC, Gate, KuCoin | All three compete on listing breadth rather than majors liquidity |
USDT-margined perpetuals | MEXC, Binance, OKX, Bybit | Base perpetual maker rates cluster at 0.020% across the group |
Coin-margined perpetuals | Binance, OKX, Bybit | Product depth varies by pair |
Earn and savings products | All six alternatives | Rates move constantly, so check current terms rather than a comparison table |
Copy trading | Bybit, KuCoin, Gate | Bybit and Gate have the longer-running programmes |
Launchpad and new-token access | MEXC, Gate, KuCoin | Mechanics differ; MEXC and Gate list earlier in a token's cycle |
Tokenised stock or commodity perpetuals | MEXC, HTX, OKX | HTX runs a TradFi section; MEXC lists contracts including TSLAUSDT and GOLD(XAU)USDT |
Availability is the first filter, ahead of fees.
MEXC is not the answer for you, and we will not pretend otherwise.
MEXC exited the European Economic Area after the MiCA transition deadline of 1 July 2026 and holds no MiCA authorisation.
HTX's own platform user agreement now lists EU member states among its restricted jurisdictions, and the EU transaction ban took effect on 23 August 2026.
The practical step is to check current authorisation status on ESMA's public register of authorised crypto-asset service providers before depositing anywhere, since the list of authorised firms has moved repeatedly through 2026.
If you still hold a balance on HTX and you are an individual national or resident of an EU state, the EEA or Switzerland, the withdrawal authorisation route described earlier runs through your national competent authority and is time-limited.
MEXC does not serve UK users, and no part of this article is a recommendation for a UK reader.
UK readers should use the FCA's own register and warning list to check any platform before depositing.
Strengths: the lowest base-tier spot cost in this group at 0.0000% maker and 0.0500% taker; more than 3,000 listed assets with early listings on new tokens; monthly Hacken-audited proof of reserves with a Guardian Fund whose addresses are public; tokenised stock and commodity perpetuals alongside its crypto book.
Limitations: no service in the US, UK, Canada or the EEA; no MiCA authorisation and an entry on ESMA's non-compliant register; a published perpetual range whose upper bound is the highest here; long-tail pairs carry thinner books and wider spreads than the majors.
Strengths: the lowest spot maker fee among the non-MEXC options at 0.0800%; a zk-STARK-based proof-of-reserves implementation that is unusually rigorous; MiCA authorisation in Malta and a broad derivatives suite including options.
Limitations: a narrower spot listing catalogue than the listing-led exchanges; feature availability varies significantly by region; the taker rate matches the 0.1000% group rather than beating it.
Strengths: order-book depth on major pairs that few venues match, which matters most on large orders; the BNB discount cuts spot fees to 0.075% without any volume requirement; broad fiat and payment-rail coverage.
Limitations: its proof of reserves is self-published without a full independent audit, unlike the four Hacken-assessed platforms here; heavy regional feature fragmentation; entry-tier fees are twice MEXC's taker rate.
Strengths: derivatives execution quality and a unified account that pools collateral across spot, margin and perpetuals; monthly Hacken-verified proof of reserves with reports published as PDFs; strong tokenised-equity offering.
Limitations: a 0.055% perpetual taker rate that sits slightly above the 0.050% pair in this group; spot listings lag the listing-led exchanges; it exited Japan entirely, with force-close completed in July 2026.
Strengths: the longest verified proof-of-reserves streak among the Hacken-audited group, at more than 39 consecutive monthly reports as of February 2026; strong altcoin depth; grid and bot tooling included at no extra cost.
Limitations: mandatory KYC across core functions since early 2026; a 0.060% perpetual taker rate, the highest of the non-HTX group; fiat access is thinner than the largest venues offer.
Strengths: one of the widest listing catalogues in the industry; an early-access launchpad pipeline comparable to MEXC's; MiCA authorisation in Malta and a VARA licence in Dubai.
Limitations: its own published spot fee schedules disagree with each other, which is a transparency problem in itself; no named independent proof-of-reserves assessor identified in this check; no service for US, UK, Japan or Canada residents.
A comparison that cannot say anything good about the incumbent is not a comparison.
HTX reports that it has published Merkle-tree proof of reserves every month for 44 consecutive months as of June 2026, which puts its programme among the earliest in this group.
Its June 2026 snapshot showed reserve ratios above 100% across BTC, ETH, TRX, XRP, DOGE and SOL.
The exchange has operated since 2013 under the Huobi name and then HTX, which is a longer continuous history than MEXC, Bybit or KuCoin.
Its USDT pair coverage in Asian trading hours has long been one of its strengths, though reporting since August 2026 has noted thinning depth on some books.
Users who took losses in the 2023 incidents were compensated, and the exchange restored withdrawals within days on both occasions.
None of that is erased by a sanctions designation, and a reader deciding what to do should hold both facts at once.
Three separate events from 2023 are frequently merged into one figure, so it is worth pulling them apart.
On 24 September 2023 an HTX hot wallet was drained of 4,999 ETH, worth roughly $7.9 million at the time, and the exchange offered the attacker a white-hat bonus that resulted in the funds being returned.
On 22 November 2023 the HECO Chain bridge was exploited for approximately $86.6 million, which is a bridge rather than the exchange itself.
HTX's own hot wallets were hit in the same episode, and here the figures diverge: HTX put its loss at around $30 million in statements to media, while blockchain analytics firm Cyvers put the exchange's share at about $13.6 million, per CNBC's contemporaneous report. HTX suspended deposits and withdrawals, resumed on 25 November 2023, and committed to full compensation.
Step 1. Export your records first.
Download your full trade and transaction history before you start moving anything, because retrieving it later is harder if account access changes.
Step 2. Whitelist the destination address early.
Address whitelisting can take up to 24 hours to activate, so set it up a day before you intend to withdraw rather than on the day.
Step 3. Match the network on both ends and test with a small amount.
Choose the same network on the sending and receiving side, check whether the asset requires a memo or tag, confirm the minimum withdrawal amount, and send a small test transfer before the full balance.
Sending an ERC-20 asset to an address expecting a different chain is the most common and least recoverable error in this whole process.
If you traded altcoins on HTX at the standard tier, and you are outside the US, UK, Canada and the EEA, MEXC is our answer: the entry-tier cost difference is four times on taker orders and total on maker orders, the listing catalogue is wider, and the reserve reporting names its auditor.
If your priority is order-book depth on majors and you trade size, Binance remains the strongest choice despite the weaker reserve verification.
If you want MiCA-authorised access with a rigorous reserve implementation, OKX is the better fit.
If copy trading was the reason you were on HTX, Bybit and Gate have the more developed programmes.
If you are in the UK, the EU or the EEA, none of the above is a recommendation, and your first step is checking current authorisation on the relevant register rather than picking on features.
Is HTX still operating in 2026?
Yes, HTX continues to operate globally as of 1 September 2026.
It is subject to UK sanctions measures and an EU transaction ban effective 23 August 2026.
Why did the UK sanction HTX?
The UK designated Huobi Global S.A. on 26 May 2026, citing reasonable grounds to suspect it provided financial services to A7 Limited Liability Company and Garantex Europe OU.
HTX rejects the allegations.
Can EU users still withdraw from HTX after 23 August 2026?
Only through a national authorisation.
Individuals who are EU, EEA or Swiss nationals or residents may apply to their national competent authority within three months of the ban taking effect; companies cannot use this route.
Is HTX available in the United States?
No, HTX does not accept US residents.
US readers should use a platform registered with the relevant US authorities.
What is the best HTX alternative for altcoin traders?
MEXC is our top pick within this comparison, on a base spot taker fee of 0.0500% against HTX's 0.2000% and more than 3,000 listed assets.
It is unavailable in the US, UK, Canada and the EEA.
How do HTX fees compare with alternatives?
HTX charges 0.2000% maker and taker on spot at its entry tier, the highest in this comparison.
MEXC charges 0.0000% maker and 0.0500% taker, while the other four alternatives cluster around 0.1000%.
Is HTX's proof of reserves reliable?
HTX reports monthly Merkle-tree proof of reserves for 44 consecutive months as of June 2026.
Unlike MEXC, OKX, Bybit and KuCoin, its reports do not name an independent assessor.
Do other exchanges restrict transfers from HTX?
Yes, Binance said on 14 August 2026 it would stop processing deposits and withdrawals involving HTX and ten other platforms from 23 August.
Transfers may be held for compliance review and associated wallets can be restricted during that review.
Cryptocurrency trading carries substantial risk, and leveraged perpetual contracts can produce losses exceeding your initial margin.
Small-capitalisation and newly listed tokens are especially volatile and can become illiquid without warning.
Fee schedules, listings and regulatory status all change, and every figure here carries a verification date for that reason.
Nothing here is investment, legal or tax advice, and sanctions obligations depend on your own jurisdiction and circumstances.