HTX stated that the frozen assets belong to legitimate users and not sanctioned entities.
Other platforms such as Bybit, Bitget and OKX had already issued alerts about linked transactions.
HTX announced this Saturday, June 6, 2026, that it suspended the WLFI/USDT, USD1/USDT, BTC/USD1 and ETH/USD1 trading pairs. In addition, it stopped deposits and withdrawals of USD1 and reported that it would automatically convert all balances in this stablecoin of its users to USDT. The measure responds to the unilateral freezing of on-chain addresses linked to the exchange by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a project linked to the Trump family.
According to HTX, the freeze was imposed by WLFI citing compliance with sanctions. This action follows the United Kingdom’s designation, on May 26, 2026, against Huobi Global SA, an entity related to HTX, for alleged links to Russian financial activities. CriptoNoticias reported on May 27 that other platforms such as Bybit, Bitget and OKX had already issued alerts about transactions linked to HTX.
In your official statementHTX maintained that the frozen assets belong to users who acquired them legitimately and not to sanctioned entities. The exchange criticized the lack of clear information from WLFI on the scope of the affected addresses, the legal basis and the procedure to resolve the situation. The conversion of USD1 to USDT was presented as a protective measure to avoid risks to users while the restriction persists.
The case has reignited the debate over the power of token and stablecoin issuers to unilaterally freeze funds, versus the principle that users are legitimate owners of their assets on the network.
Notably, HTX was the first large exchange to list USD1, in May 2025. However, the suspension of trading of WLFI and USD1 on HTX had a limited impact on the overall market liquidity, because USD1 volume is mainly dominated by Binance, and WLFI volume was already more concentrated on OKX, Bitget and Bybit.
HTX argues that WLFI affected assets of individual users without transparency or due process, while WLFI maintains that it is acting in compliance with regulatory obligations. WLFI’s link with the family of the president of the United StatesDonald Trump, has increased the visibility of the case, which also questions the limits of centralized control in projects and assets that are presented as “part of the decentralized ecosystem.”
The outcome of this dispute, and the way other platforms respond, could influence the transparency standards required of stablecoin issuers with centralized control functions.