HTX Delists Trump Family’s USD1 Stablecoin Amid Asset Freeze Dispute

HTX said World Liberty had frozen its wallet addresses, prompting the exchange to remove the platform’s token from trading and suspend related services in response.

HTX, the cryptocurrency exchange associated with crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, removed the Trump family-backed USD1 stablecoin from its platform after alleging that its wallet addresses were improperly frozen by World Liberty Financial.

“The World Liberty Financial (WLFI) project team recently stated that it has unilaterally imposed a freeze on specific HTX on-chain addresses based on sanctions compliance reviews,” said HTX on Saturday.

“As a result, the on-chain circulation of certain WLFI assets associated with these addresses has been restricted,” it said, adding it delisted USD1 to safeguard user assets.

Last month, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on HTX, previously known as Huobi Global, on May 26, citing what it described as reasonable grounds to believe the exchange had provided financial services that supported the Russian government.

However, HTX stated that Huobi Global S.A., the entity targeted by the sanctions, operates separately from the online HTX exchange and argued that the designation is not expected to affect the platform’s operations.

HTX Converts USD1 Holdings to USDT Following Delisting

The delisting became effective on Sunday. HTX has discontinued deposit and conversion functions for USD1, while users’ USD1 balances will be exchanged for Tether (USDt) on a 1:1 basis. Additional information and the final conversion schedule will be provided at a later date.

The exchange has also halted trading for the WLFI/USDT, USD1/USDT, BTC/USD1 and ETH/USD1 pairs as part of the broader suspension measures.

The exchange claimed that its wallet addresses were frozen without proper advance notice, clear legal or contractual justification, transparent explanation, or observance of due process. It argued that the action harmed the interests of its users and their assets and urged WLFI to lift the restrictions.

HTX said it intends to protect the lawful interests of its users and will consider a range of actions, including the pursuit of legal options when necessary.

World Liberty, whose advisers include US President Donald Trump and his sons Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron, has yet to publicly confirm or deny claims that HTX wallet addresses were frozen.

It posted on X on Wednesday that “in light of recent sanctions updates, World Liberty Financial maintains risk-based sanctions compliance controls.”

Sun, who is reported to own HTX and holds a position on the exchange’s global advisory board, filed a lawsuit against World Liberty in April, alleging that his tokens were frozen and faced the risk of being burned without adequate justification.

In May, World Liberty filed a defamation lawsuit against Sun, alleging that he made misleading claims about the platform and breached WLFI token sale agreements through purported unauthorized transfers, short-selling activities and straw-buying arrangements.