While most still consider C2C as "the least attractive business of exchanges," Huobi Selection Station has transformed it into the most deterministic infrastructure in just one year.

On April 7, 2026, Huobi Selection Station celebrated its first anniversary. Over the past 365 days, this C2C area, which has handled vast amounts of funds, delivered a report that caught the industry's attention: it is the only platform to maintain 0 freeze records and pioneered the "100% full compensation" mechanism.

During the anniversary live stream on X Space that evening, AD, head of Huobi HTX OTC business, engaged in an in-depth dialogue with several industry OGs and senior users. Through AD's perspective, one could glimpse how Huobi HTX reconstructed the C2C sector with fundamental business adjustments amidst a restless industry.

Based on the dialogue, we have outlined 10 key moments related to Huobi Selection Station.

Moment 1: A soul search on "Can we catch users?"

The time turned back to the Spring Festival from late 2022 to early 2023. At that time, Huobi HTX had just restarted its C2C business a few months ago, and industry partners launched a grand C2C campaign with sky-high budgets.

"At that time, I solemnly asked the team: If we also hold such a grand event, can our team's capabilities and the merchants' capacity handle it?" AD recalled. The meeting room fell into silence because everything was still a blank slate.

On that day, AD set a goal for the team: within a maximum of three years, Huobi HTX should initiate the most influential campaign in the industry. This moment laid the tone for Huobi OTC's commitment to being distinctive in capability and not blindly following trends.

Moment 2: Turning "Returning to the Top Three" from a slogan into a rigorous standard

"Everyone often hears Huobi HTX global advisor Sun Yuchen talking about returning to the top three; to us, this is not a slogan but a serious matter that deserves attention."

To match this goal, when Huobi Selection Station began planning at the end of 2024, it established extremely strict entry thresholds. AD revealed that by accumulating a vast amount of trading data and holding dozens of offline merchant activities annually, Huobi HTX has built a complex filtering model. The core bottom line for merchants to join the selection station is: the track record since joining Huobi HTX must be 0 freezes. Trading ability, service capacity, and fulfillment rate are only basic requirements.

Moment 3: Eliminating trust friction in trading through "labeling"

Ordinary users find it difficult to perceive the risk control logic behind the scenes, but they can intuitively feel the warmth of the product.

At the selection station, each merchant carries vividly contextualized advertising labels, such as "Strict price control, worry-free choice," "Night express," "Small amounts quick," and "New customer friendly."

AD gave an example: "Users who need a margin call at two or three in the morning look for 'night express'; those who suddenly want to cash out quickly search for corresponding labels. These labels directly hit different pain points for users, greatly reducing communication and understanding costs."

Moment 4: The industry's only "7*24 hours of internal manual minute-level intervention"

At the risk control level, Huobi Selection Station firmly believes that "preventive risk control is far greater than post-event resolution."

Based on model training of historical risk keywords, the system covers thousands of keywords related to abnormal trading. More disruptively, within the entire industry, only Huobi HTX has achieved an OTC internal manual service team that intervenes 7*24 hours immediately. After triggering an anomaly, instead of waiting an hour for a response, the platform intervenes directly within minutes, providing real-time protection for transactions.

Moment 5: The birth of "100% full compensation"

Last July, the selection station already achieved an excellent "0 freeze" record, but many users outside the circle or non-professional users still held doubts, as "preventive guarantees" are intangible.

The challenge for the Huobi HTX OTC team was: "How can we use a more easily understood strategy to ensure users' peace of mind?" The team meticulously reviewed the data and made a bold decision: since we can systematically assess this, we will reassure users in the simplest way.

In August 2025, the Huobi HTX "100% full compensation" mechanism was officially launched. This was not merely a spur-of-the-moment decision; rather, it stemmed from confidence grounded in long-term 0 freeze feedback from merchants, and the assurance of Huobi HTX that risks are nipped in the bud.

Moment 6: Compelling the industry to "up the ante on security," ending the expulsion of good money by bad

"In the past, when withdrawing funds, the platform was merely facilitating, and all risks were on the user; Huobi HTX dares to say 'compensation,' proving it has engaged in profit ties with users," KOL "I am your grandpa Niu" clearly stated during the live broadcast.

The launch of this mechanism directly disrupted the gameplay of the C2C industry. Exchanges like Binance and OKX gradually followed suit with frozen compensation mechanisms. While everyone was previously competing on price, now they are being compelled by Huobi HTX to "compete on risk control and security." Those who try to infiltrate the platform with illicit activities and money laundering merchants faced a downward adjustment; Huobi HTX single-handedly raised the baseline and standards of the C2C industry by one dimension.

Moment 7: Restraint and persistence against the temptation of funds

In the live stream, seasoned OTC merchant "Fulu Shou" lamented that as a merchant maintaining 0 freezes for a decade, he is acutely aware of how challenging it is to resist "financial temptations," and yet Huobi HTX managed to enable merchants within an ecosystem to achieve this together.

AD responded to the essence of this "miracle": mutual cultivation and extreme restraint. “Clean funds ensure a pure environment. We have many merchants outside the selection station wanting to pay for traffic entry, all of whom we have declined. We haven't become complacent due to creating a phenomenally successful product; we remain committed to sincere, simple, and practical values.”

Moment 8: The experiential transformation from "open market" to "boutique buyer's shop"

For users, the emergence of the selection station has changed their trading habits.

"Previously, finding a merchant felt like shopping in a wholesale market, needing to guard against pitfalls and scams; now it feels like walking into a professional buyer's shop, as the platform has already filtered selections from a vast pool.” KOL "I am your grandpa Niu" shared.

Because it is transparent, professional, and principled, Huobi Selection Station simplifies trading and stabilizes users' mindsets.

Moment 9: Redefining withdrawals and deposits as "core infrastructure of the industry"

"Withdrawals and deposits are not profit tools but the core infrastructure that determines whether users can safely enter and exit markets." KOL Mr. Qin mentioned during his sharing.

Huobi HTX transforms withdrawals and deposits from a "nerve-wracking" process into a "smooth and effortless" experience through a dual 0 fee structure, carefully selected merchants, and full compensation. As Fulu Shou stated, users can withdraw funds with peace of mind, which also helps solidify Huobi HTX's future development.

Moment 10: Q2 2026, the next unreplicable "big move"

While the industry is still working hard to catch up with the compensation mechanisms, the landscape of Huobi's OTC business has already ventured into deeper waters.

At the end of the live stream, AD revealed a major layout for 2026: besides holding a significant market share in CIS, Malaysia, Thailand, etc., Huobi HTX's high-yield and 0-fee USDD swap service is continually booming. More importantly, Huobi HTX officially landed in Australia this year and has acquired a compliant fiat license, providing services to AUD and other fiat users and institutional clients.

As for the Chinese-speaking regions, AD left a huge suspense: "In the second quarter of this year, we will launch a move comparable to the selection station. This is a groundbreaking initiative for the industry; we have evaluated it for a long time, and this time, it may be very difficult for industry partners to catch up."

In Conclusion

In a crypto cycle filled with games, the greatest skill often isn't doubling assets on paper, but securing those assets.

The 0 freeze miracle of Huobi Selection Station this year is a tribute to user pain points and a reverence for the crypto market. As "Grandpa Niu" said: "While everyone charges into the market, Huobi Selection Station is your most stable harbor."

For Huobi HTX, this is not just a victory for a C2C product, but also a successful practice in rebuilding the trust order of Web3. What exactly is the "big move" set for Q2 2026? The entire industry is watching eagerly.

About Huobi HTX

Huobi HTX was founded in 2013, and after 12 years of development, it has transformed from a cryptocurrency exchange into a comprehensive blockchain business ecosystem, covering digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investment, incubation, and other businesses.

As a leading global Web3 portal, Huobi HTX adheres to a development strategy of global expansion, ecological prosperity, wealth effect, and security compliance, providing comprehensive, safe, and reliable value and services for virtual currency enthusiasts around the world.

For more information about Huobi HTX, please visit https://www.htx.com/ or HTX Square, and follow X, Telegram, and Discord. For further inquiries, please contact glo-media@htx-inc.com.