HTX delists USD1 after claiming World Liberty Financial froze exchange addresses

HTX, the crypto exchange linked to Justin Sun, has removed the Trump family’s USD1 stablecoin after saying World Liberty Financial froze specific HTX on-chain addresses. For high-risk crypto businesses, the sequence matters: a freeze dispute quickly turned into delistings, trading-pair suspensions, and a shift of user balances into another stablecoin.

1. HTX said on Saturday that the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) project team had “unilaterally imposed a freeze on specific HTX on-chain addresses based on sanctions compliance reviews.” HTX said that, as a result, “the on-chain circulation of certain WLFI assets associated with these addresses has been restricted.”
2. The exchange said it delisted USD1 to “safeguard user assets.” The delisting took effect on Sunday. Deposit and conversion services for USD1 are no longer supported, and users’ USD1 holdings will be converted to Tether (USDt) at a 1:1 ratio, with exact completion times and details to be announced separately.
3. HTX also suspended the WLFI/USDT, USD1/USDT, BTC/USD1 and ETH/USD1 trading pairs. In other words, this was not just a token-listing note; it was a cleanup across the relevant market structure around USD1.
4. HTX said the addresses were frozen “without sufficient prior communication, adequate contractual or legal grounds, transparent disclosure or adherence to due process.” It added that it has called on WLFI to reverse the freeze and said it will take measures to “safeguard users’ legitimate rights and interests, including but not limited to pursuing legal remedies.”
5. World Liberty Financial, which counts US President Donald Trump and his three sons, Donald Jr., Eric and Barron, as advisers, has not publicly addressed whether it froze HTX’s addresses. It posted on X on Wednesday that “in light of recent sanctions updates, World Liberty Financial maintains risk-based sanctions compliance controls.”

There is also a separate sanctions angle here. Last month, the UK sanctioned HTX, formerly called Huobi Global, on May 26, saying there were “reasonable grounds to suspect” the exchange had supported Russia’s government through financial services. HTX said the sanctioned entity, Huobi Global S.A., is “distinct from the online HTX exchange” and argued the designation should not affect the platform.

Sun, who reportedly owns HTX and serves on its global advisory board, sued World Liberty in April, saying the platform froze his tokens and threatened to burn them “without any proper justification.” In May, World Liberty sued Sun for defamation, alleging false statements and violations of WLFI token sale terms through prohibited transfers, short-selling and straw purchases.