KuCoin has expanded sanctions screening (checks for restricted entities) to indirect crypto transfers involving 17 platforms, including Justin Sun-linked HTX. Under an Aug. 27 compliance notice, the exchange said transactions may be held, rejected or subjected to enhanced review when their sources, destinations or intermediary service providers connect to listed entities. Temporary wallet or account restrictions may follow, while repeated or serious violations could lead to suspension or withdrawal of KuCoin services. The measures broadly track recent U.S. and European sanctions actions but extend enforcement beyond direct counterparties. HTX is already facing similar restrictions from Binance, which stopped processing transactions involving HTX and 10 other platforms from Aug. 23. KuCoin has not disclosed how many transaction hops it traces or what level of on-chain attribution (linking activity to entities) is sufficient to establish an indirect connection. HTX disputes the sanctions-related allegations and the corporate identity behind the designation, while pursuing legal and compliance discussions with authorities in the UK and EU. The exchange said it had submitted materials concerning 17 Kraken user freeze cases to courts and was working to reduce customer disruptions. Molly, HTX’s head of markets, said HTX processed more than 100,000 deposit and withdrawal transactions over two days without identifying new cases of indiscriminate freezes. HTX also said it upgraded its wallet infrastructure and introduced withdrawal-address rotation to reduce disruption from third-party controls and on-chain labeling.