Kraken briefly locks some customers out after dust transfers from HTX-linked wallets

Kraken described the activity as a possible dust attack: unwanted, low-value transfers sent to many addresses in a way that can trigger compliance reviews or disrupt access. The exchange said in a statement shared with CoinDesk that it did not know who was behind the activity and believed the sender may have expected sanctioned funds to trigger a full account lock.

The transfers and the attribution are separate claims

The transaction count comes from blockchain analysis cited by CoinDesk and separately summarized by Unchained. The Arkham labels identify the sending wallets as HTX-linked, but that does not by itself prove that HTX or its employees initiated the transfers. Unchained reported that Kraken's spokesperson said the exchange did not know who was responsible.

The European Union's July 23 Council decision lists HTX, identified there as Huobi Global SA, among crypto-asset service providers subject to the amended Russia-related restrictions, with the entry taking effect Aug. 23. That legal record establishes the sanctions context; it does not identify the sender of the Kraken transfers.

Kraken says access was restored

Kraken's official status page listed its website, apps, trading interfaces and core APIs as operational when checked on Aug. 28. The page records the service state, not a forensic account of the dust activity, and it does not show that every customer experienced the same restriction or that the investigation is complete.

The practical risk is broader than the value of the transfers themselves. A customer can receive a tiny unsolicited payment without choosing the sender, while an exchange's sanctions controls may still need to isolate the account until the funds and address history are reviewed. Kraken's account restrictions therefore show an operational and compliance impact, not evidence that the exchange's wallets were hacked or that customer funds were stolen.