$HTX Sanctioned Funds Flood Kraken Exchanging Lockouts

Kraken exchange briefly locked some customers out of their accounts due to a flood of low-value transactions from wallets labeled as belonging to rival HTX, which is under European Union sanctions. The transactions, each valued between a few cents and dollars, appeared designed to spread sanctioned funds across other platforms.

Akram Intelligence data shows that these transactions took place between August 17th and 24th. Kraken stated that the exchanges' compliance team restored access while holding the sanctioned funds and is working with authorities to prevent the intended impact of these 'dust attacks.'

A 'dust attack' tactic involves sending small amounts of crypto to create a link between sanctioned funds and an unrelated user, making sanctions screening into an offense. The U.K. imposed an asset freeze on HTX in May after allegations that it provided financial services to Russia-linked payment networks.