HTX, the crypto exchange linked to Tron founder and advisory board member Justin Sun, delisted USD1, the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump family-affiliated crypto project, on June 7, 2026, following WLFI’s unilateral freeze of on-chain addresses associated with the exchange, a move WLFI has anchored publicly in sanctions compliance obligations arising from the UK government’s May 26 designation of Huobi Global S.A.
The exchange had already suspended four trading pairs, WLFIUSDT, USD1/USDT, BTCUSD1, and ETHUSD1, on June 5 at 13:00 UTC, announced the stablecoin delisting formally on June 6, and converted all remaining user USD1 balances to Tether (USDt) at a 1:1 ratio effective June 7. HTX has characterized the freeze as procedurally illegitimate and has threatened legal action to recover what it describes as improperly restricted user assets.
Announcement on the Delisting of USD1 (USD1) and Conversion of User Assets to USDT on HTX
As USD1 is an asset issued by the WLFI project team, and in order to mitigate potential risks, safeguard user assets, and maintain a fair trading environment, HTX will delist USD1 at 03:00… https://t.co/pkYx4bT9rl
— HTX (@HTX_Global) June 6, 2026
This is not simply an exchange delisting a stablecoin. It is the most operationally significant escalation yet in an acrimonious crypto legal dispute between Sun and World Liberty Financial, one that now implicates user asset custody rights, the jurisdictional reach of UK sanctions into decentralized token infrastructure, and the question of how far a politically connected stablecoin issuer may exercise smart-contract freeze powers against exchange counterparties without regulatory authorization or due process.
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On-Chain Address Freeze Mechanics: How Trump WLFI Crypto Guardian Controls Reached HTX’s Users and What the Sanctions Timeline Actually Shows
The mechanism functions as follows: WLFI’s smart contract architecture incorporates a designated guardian address with the technical authority to blacklist specific wallet addresses and restrict token transfers at the contract level, without requiring court authorization, regulatory order, or prior notification to the affected counterparty.
When WLFI invoked this mechanism against addresses linked to HTX, the practical effect was that on-chain circulation of WLFI-associated assets held at or transiting through those addresses became restricted, meaning HTX could no longer process withdrawals, facilitate trading, or redeem USD1 positions through standard on-chain pathways.
The exchange stated on June 6 that “the World Liberty Financial project team recently stated that it has unilaterally imposed a freeze on specific HTX on-chain addresses based on sanctions compliance reviews” and that “as a result, the on-chain circulation of certain WLFI assets associated with these addresses has been restricted.”
Official Statement from HTX Regarding the Handling of WLFI and USD1 Assets
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.
As a result, the…
— HTX (@HTX_Global) June 6, 2026
The UK sanctions context requires precise framing. On May 26, 2026, the UK government designated Huobi Global S.A., citing “reasonable grounds to suspect” the entity had supported Russia’s government through financial services, language that reflects the UK’s standard evidentiary threshold for asset-freezing designations rather than a finding of proven conduct.
HTX has disputed the applicability of this designation to its operating exchange, stating that Huobi Global S.A. is “distinct from the online HTX exchange” and that the UK action should carry no operational consequence for the platform.
It is necessary to flag the epistemic status of one further detail: WLFI has not publicly confirmed that it froze HTX’s addresses, nor has it specified which sanctions framework it applied or why HTX’s addresses – rather than those of other exchanges – triggered its compliance review. WLFI posted on X on June 4 that it “maintains risk-based sanctions compliance controls” in light of recent sanctions updates, a statement widely interpreted as implicit confirmation but not constituting direct acknowledgment.
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HTX’s Legal Position: The Due Process Argument, the Commercial Stakes, and the Strategic Logic of Public Escalation
HTX’s formal objection centers on procedural legitimacy rather than the underlying sanctions question. The exchange stated the freeze was imposed “without sufficient prior communication, adequate contractual or legal grounds, transparent disclosure or adherence to due process”, a framing that deliberately sidesteps whether the UK designation is valid and instead contests WLFI’s authority to translate a sanctions designation into a unilateral on-chain freeze affecting third-party user funds.
HTX has called on WLFI to reverse the freeze and stated it will take measures to “safeguard users’ legitimate rights and interests, including but not limited to pursuing legal remedies.”
HTX Suspends WLFI and USD1 Trading, Converting All User USD1 to USDT After Freeze
HTX representatives stated that the team behind WLFI, the Trump family-backed crypto project, recently froze HTX-related on-chain addresses citing U.K. sanctions screening, without sufficient prior… pic.twitter.com/7R3mtIQW6o
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 6, 2026
We suspect HTX’s decision to escalate publicly rather than seek a quiet commercial resolution reflects a calculated assessment that acquiescence would set a damaging precedent – one in which any stablecoin issuer with smart-contract freeze powers could effectively compel an exchange to delist by invoking compliance rationale, without engaging standard regulatory or judicial channels.
The commercial stakes are not trivial: HTX had positioned itself as the first exchange globally to list USD1, marketing the stablecoin as “fully collateralized” with permanent zero-fee withdrawals, and the subsequent forced delisting carries reputational cost that compounds the ongoing legal exposure from the wider Sun-WLFI dispute.
That dispute, which began in earnest when WLFI’s guardian address blacklisted a Sun-linked wallet holding approximately 545 million WLFI tokens (September 2025) and escalated into Sun’s federal lawsuit in California, alleging WLFI froze his tokens and threatened to burn them “without any proper justification,” – has now extended its operational blast radius to HTX’s user base.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Daniel Frances is a technical writer and Web3 educator specializing in macroeconomics and DeFi mechanics. A crypto native since 2017, Daniel leverages his background in on-chain analytics to author evidence-based reports and deep-dive guides. He holds certifications from The Blockchain Council, and is dedicated to providing “information gain” that cuts through market hype to find real-world blockchain utility.
