Can $7 in Crypto Freeze Your Account? HTX Dusting Panic Explained

Seven dollars you never asked for can now freeze your crypto account. Users blame an HTX dusting wave, a spray of tiny Tether (USDT) deposits that lands innocent traders in compliance trouble.

One Coinbase user says an unrequested 7.5 USDT transfer brought a closure threat. HTX denies sending anything, just five days before Binance blocks HTX transfers on August 23.

Unsolicited Deposits Put Exchange Accounts on Ice

Pseudonymous trader 0xZiye posted the first complaint early Tuesday. The trader’s Coinbase deposit address received 7.5 USDT from a wallet tagged as HTX. Reportedly, Coinbase then demanded an explanation or the account would be closed.

“HTX is crazily transferring out small amounts, polluting other addresses.. My Coinbase received 7.5u of Brother Sun’s poisoning.. Right now, Coinbase says if they don’t explain it clearly, they’ll just close the account…,” they posed.

Chinese crypto commentator AB Kuai Dong soon reported the same pattern among several industry insiders. Small HTX-labeled deposits arrived. Accounts froze soon after the money landed.

Users are complaining that unexpected HTX deposits are contaminating their exchange addresses

Dusting means firing tiny amounts of crypto at many wallets at once. It costs the sender almost nothing. The receiver, however, can lose access to everything.

The reason is sanctions. The UK froze HTX’s assets on May 26 over suspected dealings with A7 and Garantex, two sanctioned Russian financial firms.

Compliance software at major exchanges now treats any HTX-linked coin as toxic, even money the user never requested.

Mass dusting also has a track record. A revived Salomon Brothers entity dusted 40,000 Bitcoin wallets last year while claiming $150 billion in supposedly abandoned Bitcoin (BTC).

What the HTX Dusting Panic Means for Compliance

HTX moved fast to distance itself. Molly, an HTX executive, said an internal review found no official involvement.

“What we can confirm at present is that HTX’s official channels have not initiated any related transfers or testing activities.”

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In the statement, she said HTX is still tracing the funds. She did not rule out address-tagging errors or misread on-chain data.

Earlier, she called the reports a misunderstanding or deliberate trouble-making.

Molly’s initial response to reports that exchange accounts inexplicably received small deposits from the HTX exchange

Meanwhile, the timing feeds suspicion. Binance announced restrictions on HTX transactions on August 14 under a July EU sanctions package. From August 23, transfers touching HTX and 10 other platforms risk being frozen for review.

Binance Blocks Transactions with 11 Crypto PlatformsStarting August 23, Binance will halt all transfers involving HTX, EXMO, and nine other crypto platforms to comply with tightening regulatory rules.The exchange is actively warning users not to send or receive funds from… pic.twitter.com/WzvTHH9jjp

— BeInCrypto (@beincrypto) August 14, 2026

No on-chain evidence ties Justin Sun to the transfers. Sun has argued separately that Binance’s limits only affect UK and EU users.

The bigger problem is the math. Dust costs almost nothing to send, while one flagged deposit can lock an entire account.

Anyone can send funds to a public address, yet the receiver carries the burden of proof. HTX did not immediately respond to BeInCrypto’s request for comment.