TheBlock
HTX will delist World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin at 3:00 UTC on June 7 and convert eligible user holdings to Tether's USDT at a 1:1 ratio, the exchange announced Saturday. The move is the latest escalation in a standoff that began when WLFI unilaterally froze onchain addresses it linked to HTX, citing sanctions compliance. HTX had already suspended the WLFI/USDT, USD1/USDT, BTC/USD1, and ETH/USD1 pairs at 13:00 UTC on June 5.
HTX's statement argued the WLFI freeze was carried out "without sufficient prior communication, adequate contractual or legal grounds, transparent disclosure, or adherence to due process" and "directly infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of HTX users." Spokesperson Molly Fu said on X that the affected assets "are not assets belonging to any sanctioned entity" but rather "assets legally purchased and owned by individual users."
Why it matters
This is the first time a major venue has publicly broken with a Trump-family crypto project over the exercise of an issuer-side freeze function. The same onchain control triggered WLFI's September 2025 blacklist of Justin Sun's wallet — a roughly $9 million freeze that became a lawsuit alleging the WLFI contract carries a hidden backdoor letting the team freeze investor tokens without notice. Sun, who sits on HTX's Global Advisory Board, is now litigating the mechanism WLFI just used again.
The dispute also sits on top of the UK's May 26 sanctions designation of Huobi Global S.A., the entity UK officials said facilitated more than $1.5 billion in flows supporting Russian sanctions evasion. HTX maintains that Huobi Global S.A. is a distinct legal entity and the UK action has no impact on platform operations or user funds — but the optics of a sanctions citation followed by an issuer-side freeze of the exchange's addresses is exactly the sequence that pushes a venue to act defensively.
Market impact
USD1 launched in March 2025 as a USD-peged stablecoin tied to the Trump family's DeFi venture, with the WLFI token as its governance layer.
Frequently asked questions
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Why is HTX delisting the USD1 stablecoin?
HTX is delisting World Liberty Financial's USD1 after WLFI unilaterally froze onchain addresses linked to HTX under a sanctions compliance review. HTX says the freeze was carried out without due process and infringes on its users' rights.
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When does the HTX USD1 delisting take effect?
HTX set the delisting for 3:00 UTC on June 7. Trading in WLFI/USDT, USD1/USDT, BTC/USD1, and ETH/USD1 was suspended at 13:00 UTC on June 5, and eligible user balances will be converted to Tether's USDT at 1:1.
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How is this dispute connected to the UK Huobi sanctions?
The UK sanctioned Huobi Global S.A. on May 26 over allegations it facilitated more than $1.5B in flows supporting Russian sanctions evasion. HTX maintains Huobi Global S.A. is a separate legal entity with no impact on platform operations — but the sequence of sanctions citation followed by an issuer-side freeze of the…
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Has WLFI frozen other addresses before?
Yes. In September 2025 WLFI blacklisted Tron founder Justin Sun's wallet after roughly $9M of WLFI moved through addresses including HTX, where Sun sits on the Global Advisory Board. Sun is now suing the project, alleging the WLFI contract contains a hidden backdoor that lets the team freeze investor tokens without…
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What does the delisting mean for USD1 holders?
Eligible USD1 balances on HTX will be converted to USDT at 1:1. The delisting removes a major trading venue for USD1 and signals that WLFI's issuer-side freeze authority is now a counterparty-risk factor other exchanges may price into USD1 listings going forward.
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