Concerns Arise Over HTX's Reserve Management and Links to Poloniex

HTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, is under fire following allegations that it may be mixing its reserves with those of Poloniex. This scrutiny comes in the wake of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office.

TRM Labs has pointed out that HTX has been rapidly rotating its on-chain addresses, complicating efforts to track its holdings. The exchange has also altered its proof-of-reserves, placing funds into a newly created “ThirdParty” category, which is intended for assets held by third-party custodians. While HTX asserts that users can verify these funds by contacting the custodians, it has not responded to inquiries about the identity of these custodians.

In a detailed analysis, Protos tracked the movement of stETH from HTX's reserves. Initially reported on May 1, HTX had 71,853.22 stETH worth approximately $135 million in a specific address. However, just before the June proof-of-reserves was due, these funds were transferred through several addresses, ultimately landing in wallets associated with Poloniex.

This transaction pattern raises concerns, as it appears that a significant amount of HTX's assets are being commingled with Poloniex's reserves. Notably, HTX has previously relied on Poloniex for the storage of a substantial portion of its Bitcoin assets, often in tokenized forms.

The lack of transparency regarding the addresses where Poloniex holds these assets has further fueled speculation about the integrity of HTX's financial practices.