US Treasury cuts off MEXC over $16 billion in illicit transactions

The US Treasury on November 6 ordered American financial institutions to stop processing transfers tied to the MEXC Global exchange. FinCEN says the platform handled at least $16 billion in transactions linked to sanctions evasion, cybercrime and other illicit activity.

What the FinCEN order says

The order comes from the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). It shuts MEXC out of the US financial system. Banks, payment companies and other American institutions will no longer be able to process transfers that involve the exchange.

• The ban applies to all US financial institutions, not to selected banks
• The bureau reviewed the period from May 2021 to May 2026
• The order takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, the official journal of US federal rules

Cointelegraph reports that the exchange had not replied to a request for comment by the time of publication.

What MEXC is accused of

According to the FinCEN press release, MEXC processed transactions for sanctioned groups in Iran, North Korea and Russia. About $1.5 billion of that total is tied to evasion of Russian sanctions.

The $16 billion figure covers five years of the exchange's operations, so it is a cumulative volume rather than a single transaction.

A campaign aimed at Iranian financial channels

The MEXC order is part of Operation Economic Outcast. The Treasury launched the campaign in August to cut off financial entities that help Iran evade sanctions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement: "Financial institutions cannot have it both ways. Either you support the Iranian regime, or you have access to the U.S. financial system." Bessent added that the Treasury will keep severing the regime's economic lifelines and thwarting attempts to bypass sanctions with digital assets.

It is not the department's first statement on crypto and Iran. In October, Bessent spoke about US plans to seize $1 billion in crypto linked to Iranian entities. Pressure on MEXC is growing outside the US too, since South Korea blocked 27 crypto exchange sites in October, including KuCoin and MEXC.

Timeline and impact on customers

According to DefiLlama, MEXC held about $4.48 billion in assets as of Friday. The order does not shut the exchange itself. It limits its ties to American financial institutions.

Users in Ukraine are not directly affected, because the order is addressed to US institutions. Those who hold USDT on exchanges and plan to sell USDT for hryvnia can compare rates from verified exchangers on Kurslog. The list of exchanges we track is in the crypto exchange catalog.

The exchange has not yet commented on the accusations. Once the order is published in the Federal Register, the 30-day countdown to its effect begins.