Huobi HTX stated that the Flow (FLOW) project team unilaterally activated the Isolated Recovery plan, using protocol layer privileges to forcibly transfer FLOW from centralized exchange addresses, including Huobi HTX, and planned to burn it on January 30, 2026.
Huobi HTX stated that this move follows the Flow network protocol layer vulnerability incident on December 27, 2025, which led to the unauthorized minting of a large amount of FLOW. The exchange affirmed that it had coordinated verification, risk management, and on-chain tracing, but objected to the project acting without sufficient consultation with the exchange and users.
- Flow was found to have a vulnerability on December 27, 2025, leading to the illegal minting of large quantities of FLOW.
- The Flow project is forcibly transferring FLOW from the CEX exchange wallet, with a planned burning date of January 30, 2026.
- Huobi HTX stated that legitimate user purchases of FLOW were affected, and requested negotiations and an audit report.
The sequence of events and Huobi HTX's response
Huobi HTX stated that a protocol layer vulnerability on the Flow network on December 27, 2025, led to the unauthorized minting of large amounts of FLOW.
The exchange stated that it proactively verified the situation with the project team to confirm any anomalies, and coordinated risk management and on-chain tracing after the incident.
Huobi HTX stated that its risk control and monitoring system has continuously tracked suspicious funds, applying restrictions on identifiable assets linked to hackers, in order to prevent further inflows into the market and protect the common interests of Token holders.
Controversy surrounding Isolated Recovery and the FLOW incineration plan.
Huobi HTX objects to the Flow project's self-activation of Isolated Recovery without sufficient communication with the exchange and users, and its forced transfer of FLOW from the exchange address to protocol layer permissions.
According to Huobi HTX, the assets being forcibly transferred and scheduled to be burned on January 30, 2026, include a large amount of FLOW that regular users obtained from real market trading, not just the portion related to illegal minting.
Huobi HTX argues that this approach deviates from the principles of decentralization and clear asset ownership, setting a bad precedent for asset security boundaries in the cryptocurrency industry and causing serious damage to the legitimate property rights of the exchange and its users. The exchange calls on the project to clearly distinguish between illegal minting and legitimate holding, publish a full, auditable post-incident analysis, and resolve the issue through negotiation instead of unilateral technical measures.
