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- HTX at a glance: Credibility meets innovation in crypto exchanges segment
- What are crypto exchanges, and why would you need one?
- What are centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges?
- Choosing best crypto exchange: Basic tips
- Introducing HTX, a trusted crypto exchange brand with 12 years of excellence for for newcomers and pros
- Closing thoughts: What makes HTX stand out?
HTX is redefining what a crypto exchange should be in 2025.
From pioneering listings to DAO governance, HTX is setting the standard for how centralized platforms evolve in a rapidly changing Web3 world.
In this in-depth review, we’ll explore why HTX is no longer just a trading venue—but an all-in-one ecosystem designed for traders, earners, builders, HODLer and believers.
HTX at a glance: Credibility meets innovation in crypto exchanges segment
Launched in 2013, HTX（formerly Houbi) was one of the first global centralized cryptocurrency exchange ecosystems.
- HTX (abbreviation for “Huobi - Tron - Exchange”, with “X” also symbolizing a new era for the platform and its synergy with TRON) is a multi-product digital asset ecosystem built around a centralized cryptocurrency exchange.
- HTX’s main offering includes a high-performance trading engine for spot pairs and futures contracts spanning 900+ assets listed.
- HTX is one of the fastest-growing CEXes in the top class and the only heavyweight that increased its spot trading volume in Q1, 2025.
- In recent months, HTX unveiled an array of new products for various income strategies, including Smart Earn, Launchpool for $HTX token holders, HTX Earn, Learn & Earn, P2P Trading and so on.
- HTX applies a highly selective yet agile listing strategy, evaluating project fundamentals such as team background, security, and token distribution, to help users access safer and more sustainable investment opportunities, especially in early-stage narratives with high upside potential.
- HTX was among the first major crypto exchanges to start publishing verified proof of reserves with protection funds growing every month.
$HTX's tokenomics are underpinned by HTX DAO, while HTX Ventures aggressively invests in promising segments of the digital economy such as AI, ZK computations, BTCFi, GameFi and DeFi.
What are crypto exchanges, and why would you need one?
Crypto exchanges, or cryptocurrency exchanges, should be thought of as digital platforms where users can buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and others. Crypto exchanges work not unlike stock exchanges but deal with digital assets instead of company shares or indexes.
Crypto owners leverage exchanges to convert fiat money (like USD or EUR) into crypto, swap one coin for another, or access trading tools. They are essential for anyone looking to invest, trade or build within the crypto ecosystem. Some also offer wallets, staking and yield services, making them a one-stop shop for managing your digital assets. A large portion of users also rely on centralized exchanges as crypto wallets for storing their long-term crypto holdings.
What are centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges?
Centralized crypto exchanges, or CEXes, are platforms managed by a central authority or company. They act as intermediaries, matching buyers and sellers, and often provide user-friendly interfaces, customer support and high liquidity. At the same time, they manage users’ private keys, which are necessary for accessing crypto on accounts that might not be secure and goes against the decentralization ethos.
Decentralized exchanges (DEXes), like Uniswap or PancakeSwap, operate without a central authority. They only rely on smart contracts on blockchains to allow users to trade directly from their wallets, giving full control over funds. DEXes offer greater privacy and censorship resistance but may have lower liquidity, work slower, support fewer extra features and require deeper understanding of how blockchain works.
Choosing best crypto exchange: Basic tips
Here are some beginners’ tips to select the best cryptocurrency exchange in 2025 to store and trade cryptocurrency.
- Security first. A reliable cryptocurrency exchange should have a proven track record of operations with zero incidents, public key figureheads, a trust center, proof-of-reserve attestations and recovery funds.
- A one-stop approach is a must. It is extremely important to have all the currencies you may need and all the instruments you are interested in within a single interface. It would allow you to avoid switching between various apps.
- In 2025, compliance matters. Before depositing money, you should clearly understand whether this or that exchange is allowed to operate in your jurisdiction.
There are many other things to consider when choosing an exchange - liquidity status, clear interface, fiat support - but it is better to start with these three to seek the best possible option.
Introducing HTX, a trusted crypto exchange brand with 12 years of excellence for for newcomers and pros
HTX, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange well known for its stellar reputation and unmatched tech performance, has kept its status as a go-to platform for trading for 12 years.
In 2024-2025, the exchange implemented a number of enhancements to unlock premium income opportunities for new and existing customers.
HTX: Basics
Launched in 2013, HTX (formerly Huobi) received its current name in 2023 after its global rebranding. HTX is the abbreviation for “Huobi - Tron DAO - Exchange.” HTX is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally.
First off, it offers high-performance trading dashboards for 900+ spot trading pairs and futures positions (both USDT-M and COIN-M contracts are available). HTX also has a fast and convenient P2P trading platform, OTC trading desk and “Buy Crypto” tool for purchasing cryptocurrencies with fiat.
HTX Earn is an ecosystem of products for generating income on crypto deposits, while HTX Loan offers secure, fast, and flexible-term lending solutions. HTX Launchpool platform offers rewards in early-stage coins to all eligible users.
Image by HTX
$HTX, an eponymous utility and governance cryptocurrency, is a backbone of the platform’s tokenomics.
HTX: Recognition
HTX is consistently recognized as one of the most trusted and high-performing exchanges in the global crypto landscape.
In January 2025, Forbes named HTX one of the world’s most trustworthy centralized crypto exchanges, highlighting its transparency, security practices, and proof-of-reserves disclosures in a comprehensive industry audit.
In Q2 2025, HTX climbed into the top eight of Kaiko’s Spot Exchange Leaderboard, gaining two positions from the previous quarter. Kaiko also ranked HTX second globally in its business category, citing the platform’s exceptional product depth, operational scale, and innovation capacity.
On other major industry trackers, HTX has also been making steady progress:
- Ranked 9th on CoinMarketCap, up from 15th.
- Ranked 7th on CoinGecko, up from 13th.
- Maintained 6th position on DeFiLlama's leaderboard of crypto apps.
- Placed 3rd on CryptoRank’s exchange leaderboard, a top analytics provider in the CIS region.
Together, these accolades solidify HTX’s standing as not just a major exchange—but one of the most resilient and forward-thinking platforms in the market today.
HTX: Services and opportunities
Simply put, HTX offers the full scope of yield and trading opportunities for cryptocurrency holders in 2025. Beyond spot and futures markets, users can seamlessly purchase crypto with fiat and access a full-service OTC suite — including P2P trading for local currency payments and block trades for institutional-scale execution.
Depending on deposit size and strategy, HTX supports flexible- and fixed-term Earn products with competitive APYs. For advanced users, modules like Dual Investment and SharkFin provide structured return options with risk-managed strategies. HTX also supports Ethereum 2.0 staking, allowing all users to stake ETH directly, regardless of amount.
Image by HTX
In June 2025, HTX further expanded its derivatives ecosystem with the launch of TRX Options, offering flexible expiries from 5 minutes to 6 months, early exercise support, and a low entry threshold of just 10 USDT. This new product empowers users to deploy combination strategies, hedge risk, or amplify profits across different market conditions — all within a secure and intuitive interface.
HTX also hosts futures trading tournaments for experienced traders, while its Launchpool continues to reward users with early-stage token airdrops simply by subscribing to flexible $HTX Earn products.
HTX: Listing policy and first-mover advantages
HTX has cemented its reputation as the fastest and most accurate exchange when it comes to listing emerging assets. In May 2025, it became the first exchange globally to list USD1 (World Liberty Financial USD), a new-generation stablecoin — further reinforcing its position as a first-mover in trending asset classes.
In 2024 alone, HTX listed 218 quality tokens, covering major narratives like DePIN, RWA, Meme, AI, and the “SunPump” sector, with 171 of them debuting as first-market launches. Tokens such as AI Prophecy (ACT) and BAN saw post-listing surges of over 12,000% and 4,400%, respectively, reflecting HTX’s sharp eye for early-stage potential.
Notable listings included Dogwifhat (WIF), Neiro (NEIROCTO), Goatseus Maximums (GOAT), and ACT, alongside red-hot Q1 2025 favorites like Avaai.top (AVAAI) and a wave of PolitFi meme coins — giving HTX users early access to some of the year’s most explosive narratives.
HTX’s listing strategy goes beyond speed. It combines community-driven feedback, on-chain signal analysis, and sector research to identify tokens with strong potential for long-term value creation. The platform is known for siding with builders and users — actively rejecting tokens associated with insider manipulation or opaque tokenomics.
Looking forward, HTX will continue to double down on asset discovery by:
- Empowering community voices to shape listing priorities
- Supporting builders with long-term industry impact
- Riding the wave of trending narratives while anchoring in fundamentals
This combination of first-mover agility + selective curation + community alignment is what sets HTX apart, not just listing early, but listing right.
HTX: Community and security
HTX is one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges that maintained zero security incidents for over 20 consecutive months.
Also, HTX activated a number of security enhancements in 2024-2025. The most crucial ones include multi-device login protections and anomaly transfer alerts, Fireblocks off-exchange integration to strengthen institutional custody, expanded collaboration with global white-hat partners for 24/7 defense and continuous penetration testing.
With user trust, security, and transparency as its top priorities, HTX leads the industry with 32 consecutive months of Merkle Tree-based reserve disclosures. Its July 2025 report confirmed four consecutive months of USDT reserve growth, reaching 1.82 billion USDT in reserves versus 1.8 billion in user assets. The platform’s reserve ratio remains above 100%, reinforcing user confidence and sustaining consistent capital inflows.
Bonus: What are HTX Ventures and HTX DAO
HTX is the only mainstream centralized exchange actively transitioning toward decentralized governance. It allows members of HTX DAO to participate in the governance of the exchange by holding $HTX and voting on referendums.
Image by HTX DAO
Governance proposals have empowered users to shape staking mechanics, token burns and ecosystem integration. Initiatives like Multiple Staking Rewards and Vote-to-Earn have made HTX a living case study for meaningful DAO implementation.
HTX Ventures, an exchange’s VC studio, has already funded over 300 high-impact projects in AI, ZK-rollups, BTCFi, GameFi and DeFi verticals.
In 2024-2025, HTX Ventures published over a dozen thought leadership reports, equipping users with insights into layer-2 evolution, liquid restaking, regulatory trends and so on.
Closing thoughts: What makes HTX stand out?
As a top-tier, international crypto exchange with over 12 years of operational history, HTX delivers a full-stack digital asset ecosystem — spanning trading, staking, lending, earning, and rewarding early-stage token exposure for HTX holders.
With user-first principles, robust asset safety, and operational transparency, HTX was among the first major platforms to implement Merkle Tree-based proof of reserves, maintaining 32 consecutive months of full disclosures and consistently staying above 100% reserve ratios.
HTX also pioneered DAO-based governance through HTX DAO — a decentralized organization where token holders can propose and vote on key platform decisions, participate in liquidity pledge initiatives, and actively shape ecosystem development with real staking and fee benefits.
Built around a mission to empower users with secure, inclusive, and transparent crypto finance, HTX continues to evolve its product and governance frameworks, positioning itself as one of the most resilient and forward-looking platforms in the global Web3 landscape.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team