Binance has notified users it will stop processing transactions involving MEXC, effective immediately, four days after the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) named the exchange a primary money laundering concern. An email to users that is now circulating lists 13 MEXC names and affiliates, and Binance repeated the restriction in a public post on X.
Binance will decline any transfer from a Binance account to the listed entities and temporarily withhold deposits that arrive from them for compliance review. Accounts that keep transacting with them can face further restrictions, including offboarding. The cutoff arrives a month before FinCEN’s own prohibition takes effect on December 10.
This report sets out what FinCEN alleges, why its tool differs from a sanctions listing, and how the cutoff compares with the 16 platforms Binance restricted in August.
Binance is applying enhanced compliance measures following FinCEN’s designation of MEXC as a Primary Money Laundering Concern.
Effective immediately, users should not send funds to, receive funds from, or otherwise transact through Binance involving MEXC, MEXC Global, MEXC affiliates or related entities. Requests to send funds to MEXC addresses will be rejected.
Any direct or indirect transaction involving these entities will be subject to further review. Impacted funds and accounts may be temporarily restricted while the review is ongoing, and such activity may constitute a breach of Binance Terms of Use.
For questions, please contact Binance Support through official channels.
— Binance (@binance) November 10, 2026
The figures FinCEN cites against MEXC and the period each covers
FinCEN’s order, issued November 6, covers different periods and overlapping categories, so the figures should not be added together.
| Allegation | Figure | Period |
| Likely illicit activity | $16.7 billion | May 2021 to May 2026 |
| Direct flows with UK-sanctioned high-risk exchangers | Over $13 billion | May 2018 to July 2026 |
| Exposure to Russian sanctions evasion | Nearly $1.5 billion, with $232 million direct with sanctioned entities | Not stated |
| Transactions with Garantex and Grinex after their designations | About $129 million and $4.1 million | Through June 2026 |
| Direct flows with more than 40 Iranian exchangers | Over $1 billion | Not stated |
| Flows with exchangers collecting no identity checks | About $2.9 billion | Not stated |
FinCEN’s announcement puts MEXC’s scale at more than $1 billion in daily transactions as of June and about 9% of centralized exchange trading volume in December 2025.
Why this is not a sanctions listing
FinCEN used Section 9714 of the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, not Section 311 of the Patriot Act, which it applied to Huione Group in 2025. The Huione measure was a correspondent account ban, and FinCEN judged that inadequate for MEXC because it would not reach crypto moving outside a correspondent relationship. Section 9714 adds a ban on any transmittal of funds, fiat or crypto, by any US financial institution.
MEXC is not on OFAC’s sanctions list, so screening against that list would not catch it. That gives Binance’s explicit list of 13 names, from MEXC Global Limited and MEXC Estonia OÜ to a former brand, MEX Exchange, practical weight. The order freezes no customer assets, a point MEXC chief executive Vugar Usi has also made.
How Binance’s response compares with its August cutoffs
In August, Binance restricted 16 platforms in three batches. Shelbit and Aban Tether Exchange went first on August 7, the day the US Treasury designated both over alleged Iran-linked laundering. A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa and PilotFinance followed on August 13 with no sanctions action named in Binance’s notice. Binance’s August 14 announcement then added 11 platforms covered by the EU’s Russia sanctions regulation, effective August 23. MEXC is the first case in this series where the trigger is a FinCEN special measure, which freezes no assets and does not designate MEXC under OFAC sanctions.
| Platform | Date Binance acted | Why |
| Shelbit, Aban Tether Exchange | August 7, 2026 | US Treasury sanctions over alleged Iran-linked money laundering |
| A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, PilotFinance | August 13, 2026 | Binance cited regulatory requirements without naming a sanctions action |
| HTX | August 23, 2026 | EU listing under Regulation 2026/1848 for services to A7 LLC, and UK sanctions on Huobi Global since May 26 |
| EXMO, Rapira, Aifory Pro, ABCeX, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto, Tradex, Monease, BitPapa, Exnode | August 23, 2026 | Same EU regulation, which says they undermine Russia sanctions |
| MEXC and 12 other listed names | November 10, 2026 | FinCEN Section 9714 order of November 6 |
Binance’s stated reason each time was that it must follow the regulatory requirements of the jurisdictions where it operates. The timing changed. The EU adopted its regulation on July 23 and Binance announced the HTX cutoff 22 days later, effective August 23, the date the EU rules start. For MEXC, Binance acted four days after FinCEN’s order, with immediate effect and 30 days before the US prohibition begins. Both intervals are DeFi Planet calculations.
The A7 network recurs. The EU cited HTX’s services to A7 LLC, Binance restricted A7 Nigeria and A7 Africa, and FinCEN attributes nearly $200 million of MEXC activity to the ruble-backed A7A5 token, which TRM Labs ties to the Garantex and Grinex sanctions-evasion network.
Withholding deposits is also a change in posture. In ICIJ’s reporting on Huione transactions, Binance said crypto technology does not allow it to block deposits into its system.
How the market and rivals responded
MEXC has said on X that its services are operating normally and that user assets remain secure. A statement of that kind is aimed at withdrawals, which customers tend to test first after a regulatory action, and the outflow figures further down show how much money left the exchange in the first 24 hours.
MEXC is aware of the order issued by the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on November 6, 2026, and is reviewing it closely in coordination with our legal and compliance teams.
MEXC is operating normally, and user assets remain secure.
We take the concerns raised seriously and intend to engage constructively with FinCEN, as well as other relevant regulators and competent authorities worldwide. We have also begun an independent review of our AML and sanctions controls.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates through our official channels.
— MEXC (@MEXC) November 7, 2026
OKX founder Star Xu in response to one X user, said the exchange has tightened its controls ahead of the US deadline and asked users not to send funds directly from MEXC.
Sorry for the inconvenience. We understand that you may be an innocent user caught up in this situation, and we sympathize with your frustration.
Please avoid transferring funds directly from MEXC to OKX.
OKX treats FinCEN special measures with a level of caution similar to sanctions. Under our compliance controls, funds associated with affected platforms may be frozen, and related accounts may be subject to further investigation.
Although FinCEN has provided a 30-day transition period, OKX has already significantly strengthened its controls rather than waiting until the deadline.
Protecting our users and maintaining the integrity of the financial system remain our highest priorities.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
— Star_OKX (@star_okx) November 7, 2026
Some users showed little appetite to leave. Trader Logan (@TheAlbayX) tweeted about their continued usage of MEXC regardless.
@binance I’ll continue using #MEXC regardless. If needed, I can always use other exchanges as well. 😃
— LOGAN 🇹🇷👑😎 (@TheAlbayX) November 10, 2026
Another user Micky Madrid (@micky_madrid) claims to trust MEXC more than “BnB”, very likely referring to Binance.
@binance I trust MEXC more than BnB
— Micky Madrid (@micky_madrid) November 10, 2026
On-chain investigator ZachXBT questioned the $16 billion estimate, asking FinCEN to release the data behind it and arguing that other large exchanges may have handled illicit flows of hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.
Does it concern anyone else about how all of these other offshore CEXs with little to no US presence rush to immediately cut off MEXC users from transferring assets?
Who is actually being protected by it…
What % of MEXCs total volume was illicit?
I can go to any large CEX and flag 9-10 figs in illicit activity.
I think anyone can agree MEXC historically has had a quite relaxed AML / KYC policy.
But the $16B illicit amount being alleged by FinCEN seems overstated to me so I’d like to see the data and comps.
Starts to feel a bit of gov’t overreach for cases like HTX or MEXC when much worse offenders like Kucoin are not being sanctioned…
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 10, 2026
Binance’s own record drew a pointed reaction as well. Grok.Art (@pepers_eth) on X posted a meme captioned “But…wait, didn’t CZ go to prison for money laundering?”, a jab at Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program as part of a roughly $4 billion settlement with the US Justice Department, and who President Trump pardoned on October 23, 2025.
@binance But…wait, didn’t CZ go to prison for money laundering? https://t.co/DabEUKph6b
— Grok.Art (@pepers_eth) November 10, 2026
What to watch next
December 10: The FinCEN prohibition takes effect 30 days after its November 10 Federal Register publication, and from that date any US financial institution that moves funds from or to MEXC Global risks civil and criminal penalties. Binance acted a month early, so the open question is which US-facing banks, payment processors and brokers cut MEXC off before the deadline and which wait for it.
Other exchanges: Bitget copied Binance’s August list within a day. OKX founder Star Xu has already asked users not to send funds directly from MEXC. If either publishes a named list of MEXC entities as Binance did, the cutoff becomes an industry standard. If both stay silent, MEXC keeps most of its non-US liquidity channels.
MEXC’s review: Vugar Usi announced an independent review of the exchange’s anti-money laundering and sanctions controls. The review matters only if MEXC names the reviewer, sets a completion date and publishes findings. An unpublished review would leave the FinCEN allegations unanswered.
FinCEN’s data: On-chain investigators like ZachXBT has asked FinCEN to release the data behind the $16 billion estimate and compare it with other large exchanges. FinCEN’s figures span different periods and overlap, so a methodology release would show how much of the headline number is double-counted and whether other exchanges carry similar exposure.
FAQs
Can Binance users still send funds to MEXC?
No. Binance declines transfers to the 13 listed names, and deposits from them are withheld for compliance review.
Does the FinCEN order freeze MEXC users’ funds?
No. It bars US financial institutions from transmitting funds to or from MEXC Global and leaves customer assets untouched.
When does the FinCEN order take effect?
Thirty days after Federal Register publication on November 10, which is December 10, 2026.
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