HTX announced this Saturday that it has suspended the trading pairs WLFI/USDT, USD1/USDT, BTC/USD1, and ETH/USD1 on June 6, 2026. Additionally, it announced that it will stop USD1 deposits and withdrawals and automatically convert all balances of users in this stablecoin to USDT. The action is in response to a unilateral freeze of on-chain addresses associated with the exchange by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a project linked to the Trump family.
According to HTX, the freeze was imposed by WLFI due to sanctions compliance. This action follows the UK’s designation of Huobi Global SA, an HTX-related entity, on May 26, 2026, for alleged links to Russian financial activities. CriptoNoticias reported on May 27 that other platforms such as Bybit, Bitget, and OKX have already issued warnings regarding transactions related to HTX.
In an official statement, HTX insisted that the frozen assets belonged to legally acquired users and not to sanctioned entities. The exchange criticized the lack of clear information from WLFI about the range of addresses affected, the legal basis, and steps to resolve the situation. USD1 to USDT conversion was presented as a safeguard To avoid risks to users while restrictions remain in place.
The incident reignited debate over the power of token and stablecoin issuers to unilaterally freeze funds and the principle that users are the rightful owners of assets on the network.
Notably, HTX was the first major exchange to list USD1 in May 2025. However, the trading volume of USD1 was mainly dominated by Binance, and the trading volume of WLFI was already concentrated in OKX, Bitget, and Bybit, so the suspension of trading of WLFI and USD1 on HTX had a limited impact on overall market liquidity.
HTX claims that WLFI affected the assets of individual users without transparency or due process, while claiming that WLFI is acting in accordance with its regulatory obligations. WLFI’s connections to the families of U.S. presidentsPresident Donald Trump raised the profile of the case, which also questions the limits of centralized control over projects and assets presented as “part of a decentralized ecosystem.”
The outcome of this dispute, and the response of other platforms, could impact the transparency standards required of centrally managed stablecoin issuers.
(Tag Translation) Cryptocurrency
