Overview
- TRM Labs published a report on July 21 saying HTX has been retiring and replacing hot and funding wallets across TRON, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Solana, with some addresses active for only hours.
- HTX responded that the wallet changes are routine, security-driven platform operations and rejected any suggestion that they were intended to evade sanctions.
- TRM argues that frequent rotation makes static, address-based screening slow to catch new HTX addresses and urges firms to use behavior-based attribution that links wallets by transaction patterns in real time.
- The UK designated Huobi Global S.A. under its Russia sanctions regime on May 26 and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation says it treats HTX as subject to those measures, while the FCA’s separate legal action against HTX remains active.
- Independent research has flagged large high-risk flows tied to Russia-linked entities and darknet markets, a finding HTX disputes, and the disagreement is already forcing counterparties and screening vendors to rethink how they block or review transactions.