A Hyperliquid user has reported that their wallet was flagged as high risk after receiving a repayment from a friend who had used crypto exchange HTX, raising concerns about how sanctions screening can affect people who have never directly used the exchange.
In an October 25 post on X, the trader known as x256.hl said they had lent a friend several thousand dollars months earlier and later received the money back through HTX, formerly known as Huobi.
The trader said they had never personally used HTX and were unaware of the exchange’s sanctions-related issues. Their friend reportedly did not know about the restrictions either.
The incident raised concerns about whether even small transfers from HTX could cause other wallets to be flagged. However, there has been no confirmation that such transfers automatically trigger restrictions.
Another Hyperliquid user, @0xasrequired, reported a similar experience. They said three of their wallets were restricted from Hyperliquid’s official website in June after transactions involving HTX.
According to their account, two wallets were flagged on June 2, followed by a third on June 5. The trader claimed the wallets held 99.5% of their net worth and had been used across several decentralized finance platforms.
Their trading history reportedly included more than $210 million in trading volume, over $60,000 in trading fees, and another $50,000 in builder fees.
Although the trader could still access Hyperliquid through alternative interfaces, they said losing access to the official website could prevent them from signing the terms required to claim future airdrop rewards.
The trader also claimed they were unable to collect Kinetiq Season 2 rewards despite ranking among the top 150 participants. However, x256.hl said they had successfully claimed their own Kinetiq rewards, as the HTX-related transaction occurred before the final snapshot.
The restrictions followed UK sanctions announced on May 26 against Huobi Global S.A. British authorities accused the company of providing financial services connected to Russia-linked entities, including A7 and Garantex.
HTX disputed the application of the sanctions to its operating exchange, arguing that Huobi Global S.A. was a separate legal entity. British authorities later clarified that they considered HTX covered by the restrictions through ownership rules.
Other platforms also introduced additional checks on HTX-related transactions. In June, FixedFloat suspended Huobi-linked funds for further verification, while Kraken and OKX issued warnings about transfers involving HTX. In August, Binance announced transaction restrictions involving HTX and 10 other platforms following sanctions-related regulatory measures.
The incidents have raised questions about how blockchain screening systems identify risky wallets and how platforms decide whether to restrict access.
In their June account, @0xasrequired said compliance providers such as Blockaid, Chainalysis, and TRM supply transaction information and risk assessments, while platforms make their own decisions about restrictions. The trader claimed Hyperliquid used Chainalysis for screening, but this relationship has not been independently confirmed.
The trader also said their wallets passed checks conducted through GoPlus Security and Blockaid despite being restricted on Hyperliquid.
Other users have reported similar problems. In one case, a Hyperliquid user named Maxime said their wallet was mistakenly flagged after receiving a $0.02 transaction associated with a suspicious address. Their access to the official website was later restored.
However, the latest complaint has not been accompanied by a public explanation from Hyperliquid identifying the specific transaction or screening criteria that led to the high-risk flag.
In the earlier case, @0xasrequired said they had opened a support ticket on Discord and received an initial response from Hyperliquid co-founder iliensinc, but had not received a further resolution by the time their account was published.