HTX Rejects Crypto Poisoning Claims After Kraken Users Report Restrictions

Highlights:

• HTX denied sending the small USDT transfers that users linked to Kraken account restrictions.
• The reported $4.2 million Kraken restriction remains unverified because HTX has not provided supporting evidence.
• The HTX crypto poisoning dispute has raised questions about how exchanges screen unsolicited crypto transfers.

HTX, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, denied authorizing disputed crypto microtransfers on Aug. 20 after several Kraken users reported fund restrictions. Several users said small USDT transfers from HTX-labeled addresses appeared in their wallets before Kraken restricted access to some funds.

This just keeps getting messier…

HTX says its official accounts were NOT behind the address-poisoning transfers, yet Kraken has reportedly frozen user funds tied to cases involving up to $4.2M.

And Binance is set to restrict HTX transfers from Aug. 23.

Too many HTX-related… https://t.co/pdgTvk838v pic.twitter.com/0lu2ui9sRG

— Karan Singh Arora (@thisisksa) August 20, 2026

An HTX representative addressed the allegations after the exchange reviewed its official accounts. The representative said HTX found no transactions showing that company-controlled accounts initiated the disputed microtransfers. The representative suggested some affected users may have sent transfers themselves to test or protest Kraken’s restrictions. However, HTX has not published transaction hashes showing that affected users initiated those transfers themselves.

Justin Sun also denied reports that HTX deliberately organized the transfers to trigger restrictions for Kraken customers. HTX said its investigators were checking wallet labels and transaction sources to identify who sent the disputed USDT transfers.

用户永远第一，受影响的火币用户可以加群，火币会尽一切努力保护用户的资产！ https://t.co/Z2ZfrwHyhB

— H.E. Justin Sun 👨‍🚀 🌞 (@justinsuntron) August 19, 2026

HTX has not published a complete list of sending addresses or transaction hashes for independent review. It has also not released a final investigation report identifying who controlled the addresses behind the disputed transfers.

HTX Crypto Poisoning Raises Questions Over Sanctions Screening

Kraken has confirmed that U.K. sanctions require restrictions on certain funds transferred from Huobi into Kraken customer accounts. The policy follows the U.K. government’s May 26 designation of Huobi Global S.A. under its Russia sanctions regime.

U.K. authorities said Huobi Global made funds or economic resources available to entities operating within Russia’s financial sector. Kraken must follow applicable U.K. sanctions rules when handling funds connected with entities covered by those restrictions.

HTX disputed the designation’s application to its online exchange after British authorities announced the sanctions. The company argued that Huobi Global S.A. operates separately from the HTX trading platform. However, the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation rejected that interpretation. OFSI considers HTX covered because it views Huobi Global as the exchange’s owner under U.K. sanctions rules.

The disputed transfers from HTX differ from traditional crypto address poisoning because users allege the transactions targeted compliance systems instead of wallet addresses. In traditional address poisoning, attackers use lookalike wallets to trick recipients into copying a fraudulent address during a later transaction.

In this case, users allege someone sent small transfers to connect recipient wallets with addresses that compliance systems could flag. Intentional transfers from sanctions-sensitive addresses could trigger compliance checks when exchanges screen a recipient’s transaction history.

However, available onchain reporting has not identified who controlled every sending address involved in the disputed transfers. An unsolicited USDT transfer cannot prove deliberate sanctions exposure because recipients do not approve incoming blockchain transactions.

$4.2 Million Freeze Claim Remains Unverified

The representative said HTX reviewed Kraken restriction reports during the two days before the Aug. 20 statement. The representative claimed the largest restricted amount identified during the review reached $4.2 million. HTX did not provide account records, transaction hashes, or Kraken communications supporting the reported $4.2 million figure. Kraken has also not publicly confirmed a restriction involving that amount.

The crypto poisoning claims also leave the reported $4.2 million figure unclear because HTX did not identify the affected accounts. The exchange also provided no evidence linking the reported restriction directly to the recent microtransfers.