Argentina has taken a bold step, blocking access to the HTX cryptocurrency exchange at a nationwide level. A cybercrime specialized prosecutor’s office in San Isidro has ordered the blockage of the exchange, which is headquartered in Seychelles and has Chinese origins, due to its refusal to collaborate in a pig-butchering scheme probe.

The landmark decision comes as the exchange is neither registered in the country nor has it delivered the necessary documentation to the national securities regulator to operate as a virtual asset service provider (VASP).

The investigation dates back to 2022, when the victim of the scheme lost $13,000 as a third party took advantage of him to force him to send these funds to a third-party address. The address used to receive the funds was linked to HTX and, according to local media, was also receiving cryptocurrency from other investment schemes.

Alejandro Musso, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, stated that the block was enacted after the exchange failed to provide identification data linked to this address.

Musso declared:

From a criminal perspective, we understand that it is urgent to identify and block access to all platforms that operate in the country without registration and without judicial cooperation.

Furthermore, he stressed this measure would “not only strengthen the transparency of the crypto ecosystem, but would also provide legal certainty to both investors and victims of crimes linked to crypto assets.”

Nonetheless, this measure leaves thousands of HTX users without official means of accessing their funds, even though these have not been seized. Previously, HTX had denied another ID request from the Argentine justice system, claiming that it could not deliver the requested data due to legal restrictions and that similar requests should only be made through Seychelles organizations.

Read more: Argentina Strengthens Regulatory Requirements for VASPs

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