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HTX just pulled the plug on World Liberty Financial. The exchange suspended trading for both WLFI/USDT and USD1/USDT pairs on June 6, forcibly converting all user USD1 stablecoin holdings into USDT at a 1:1 ratio. The full delisting of USD1 took effect on June 7 at 03:00 UTC.
The trigger: WLFI froze tokens sitting in addresses tied to HTX.
What happened and why
The chain of events traces back to May 26, when Huobi Global S.A., the entity historically connected to what is now HTX, was designated under a UK sanctions compliance review. That designation prompted WLFI to freeze tokens in HTX-associated addresses, presumably as part of its own compliance posture.
HTX responded by halting all USD1 deposits and withdrawals, then converting every user’s USD1 balance to Tether’s USDT.
This is particularly notable because HTX was the first major exchange to list both USD1 and WLFI back in May 2025.
The centralization problem at the heart of WLFI
WLFI’s governance token contracts have always contained admin-controlled blacklist and freeze capabilities. These features were exercised against large holders as far back as September 2025.
World Liberty Financial, which has ties to individuals connected to the Trump family, issues both the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
The freeze mechanism that WLFI deployed against HTX is the same mechanism that critics have flagged repeatedly. When a project can unilaterally immobilize tokens on an exchange’s books, the exchange faces an impossible choice: keep listing the token and accept the issuer’s authority over your operations, or cut ties.
HTX chose to cut ties.
What this means for investors
For users who held USD1 on HTX, the immediate financial impact is cushioned by the 1:1 USDT conversion. Nobody lost money on the swap itself.
Every investor who owns WLFI or USD1 on any platform should be asking: could this happen to my exchange next? The answer, technically, is yes. If WLFI’s compliance team decides another exchange’s addresses need freezing, the playbook already exists.
For anyone holding tokens associated with politically connected projects, the lesson is straightforward. Political ties can attract regulatory attention. Regulatory attention can trigger compliance actions. Compliance actions can freeze your tokens. That’s not speculation. That’s literally what just happened.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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