LONDON, Feb 10 – Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday it had asked social media companies and app stores to block access to crypto exchange HTX in the UK, stepping up efforts to prevent the group from promoting “illegal” crypto asset services.

The regulator, which filed a London High Court lawsuit against HTX last October, said it wanted Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), and Apple (AAPL.O),  to remove HTX products from UK app stores and HTX’s social media accounts for UK-based consumers blocked.

Regulators and authorities around the world have for years warned that nascent crypto markets – which are generally less regulated than mainstream financial markets – present risks to investors. The FCA enforcement action is its first…